Brazil: Indigenous Amazon tribe that got painted as porn addicts after New York Times story sues the American newspaper

An Indigenous tribe from the Brazilian Amazon has sued the American newspaper The New York Times, saying the newspaper’s reporting on the tribe led to its members being shown as technology-addled and addicted to pornography. The Amazonian tribe is absolutely furious about its depiction in the New York Times report and the reactions to it.

The Marubo Tribe of the Javari Valley, which is suing New York Times, is a community of about 2,000 people in the Amazonian rainforest. The defamation lawsuit has been filed in a court in Los Angeles.

The lawsuit also names TMZ and Yahoo as defendants, saying that their stories amplified and sensationalized the New York Times reporting and smeared the tribe as well.

The tribe is living in communal huts among 20 different villages scattered over hundreds of miles along the Ituí River in Brazil, and most of its is inaccessible. They live in one of the most remote places in the world in the Amazon forest.

However, all that changed when Elon Musk’s Starlink arrived, and following that, came a New York Times reporter 2 years later named Jack Nicas. The tribe received 20 Starlink antennas, worth about $15,000 apiece, which gave the isolated tribe a high-speed connection to the outside world. The American newspaper’s journalist Jack Nicas thought it would be a great story to cover, however, his story portrayed the tribe as mostly porn addicts, as per the lawsuit filed by the tribe.

As per the tribe, the New York Times report portrayed the Marubo people as a community unable to handle basic exposure to the internet, highlighting allegations that their youth had become consumed by pornography.

The lawsuit further added, “These statements were not only inflammatory but conveyed to the average reader that the Marubo people had descended into moral and social decline as a direct result of internet access. Such portrayals go far beyond cultural commentary; they directly attack the character, morality, and social standing of an entire people, suggesting they lack the discipline or values to function in the modern world.”

Meanwhile, the New York Times has said they intend to defend against the lawsuit. A spokesperson for the paper said, “Any fair reading of this piece shows a sensitive and nuanced exploration of the benefits and complications of new technology in a remote Indigenous village with a proud history and preserved culture. We intend to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”

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