An Indigenous group from Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has filed a defamation lawsuit against major US media outlets, accusing them of misrepresenting their community in coverage about their first experience with internet access.
The Marubo people, who live in the remote Javari Valley and number around 2,000, say they were wrongly portrayed as unable to cope with modern technology, specifically being obsessed with pornography.
The legal action was filed this week in Los Angeles by the tribe along with community leader Enoque Marubo and journalist Flora Dutra. It targets the New York Times, as well as TMZ and Yahoo, claiming the outlets distorted the tribe’s experience and damaged their global reputation. The suit seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
The controversy began after a New York Times article published in June 2024 covered the Marubo tribe’s introduction to the internet via Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service. The article, written by reporter Jack Nicas, aimed to explore the cultural shifts taking place as the Marubo adapted to digital life. It described common internet-related challenges, such as social media addiction and misinformation, but also mentioned concerns raised by a tribal leader about pornography being shared among young people.
The Marubo claim the report went too far, casting them in a negative light. They argue that it unfairly painted their community as morally declining and unable to handle digital technology. The article itself only made a brief mention of pornography, but that part was quickly picked up and sensationalized by other outlets. TMZ, for example, published a story with a headline suggesting the tribe had become addicted to porn due to Starlink access.
The tribe says this amplification deeply misrepresented their culture. They argue that the media coverage damaged their dignity and wrongly suggested they were incapable of adjusting to modern tools. The lawsuit claims this portrayal reduced them to a stereotype and disrespected their efforts to modernize responsibly while preserving their traditions.
In response, the New York Times defended the original story, saying it was a careful and thoughtful report on the effects of internet access in an isolated Indigenous village. The outlet also published a follow-up article clarifying that the Marubo were not addicted to pornography, and that no such conclusion had been drawn in the original piece.
However, the tribe says the follow-up did not go far enough. They argue it avoided responsibility by blaming other media for twisting the story, rather than directly addressing the tone and content of the original report. They also challenge how much time the reporter actually spent with the community, stating that he was present for less than two days—insufficient to fully understand their culture and challenges.
The Marubo tribe has long worked to preserve their way of life while navigating modern pressures. Their leaders say the media should treat Indigenous communities with fairness and respect, especially when reporting on sensitive cultural topics. The lawsuit aims to hold the media accountable for what the tribe views as careless reporting that harmed their global image and undermined their dignity.