A lawsuit has been initiated by tribes from the Amazon against the New York Times, focusing on reports concerning the community’s access to high-speed Internet. The tribe alleges that these reports insinuated that its members, including minors, are addicted to pornography.
The defamation suit claims that the U.S. newspaper’s article depicted the Marumbo tribe as “unable to manage basic Internet exposure,” while drawing attention to statements suggesting that the tribe’s youth had “fallen deep into pornography.”
TMZ and Yahoo were also included in the lawsuit, accused of “mocking tribal youth” and “misrepresenting their traditions.”
With around 2,000 members, the Marumbos are seeking at least $180 million in damages.
In response, the New York Times asserts that its original report did not claim any tribe members were addicted to pornography.
The report, as noted by the BBC, was published in the summer of 2024, nine months after the Marumbos gained access to Starlink, the satellite internet service provided by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
A spokesperson mentioned that the tribe is “already confronting challenges similar to those faced by American households for years.” These challenges include “teenagers absorbed by their phones, violent video games, and minors viewing pornography.” Furthermore, one community leader who criticized Internet use reported observing “more aggressive sexual behavior” among young men.
The original report was circulated by several media channels, which, according to the lawsuit, exaggerated claims of “porn addiction.” Consequently, a week later, the New York Times published a follow-up article titled “No, a remote Amazon tribe is not addicted to porn.”
The defendants argue that the initial article from the New York Times triggered “a global media storm,” subjecting the tribe’s members to “humiliation, harassment, and irreparable harm to their reputation and safety.”
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