Anonymous
5/24/2025, 7:46:42 AM No.1407845
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2ekvnrkpno
>An Amazonian tribe has sued the New York Times (NYT) over a report about the community gaining access to high-speed internet, which it claims led to its members being labelled as porn addicts.
>The defamation lawsuit said the US newspaper's report portrayed the Marubo tribe as "unable to handle basic exposure to the internet" and highlighted "allegations that their youth had become consumed by pornography".
>The lawsuit also named TMZ and Yahoo as defendants, and said their news stories "mocked their youth" and "misrepresented their traditions". The NYT said its report did not say any of the tribe's members were addicted to porn. TMZ and Yahoo have been contacted for comment.
>The Marubo, an Indigenous community of about 2,000 people, is seeking at least $180m (£133m) in damages. The NYT's story, written nine months after the Marubo gained access to Starlink, a satellite-internet service from Elon Musk's SpaceX, said the tribe was "already grappling with the same challenges that have racked American households for years".
>This included "teenagers glued to phones", "violent video games" and "minors watching pornography", the report said. It stated that a community leader and vocal critic of the internet was "most unsettled by the pornography", and had been told of "more aggressive sexual behaviour" from young men.
>The report also noted the perceived benefits of the internet among the tribe, including the ability to alert authorities to health issues and environmental destruction and stay in touch with faraway family.
>The named plaintiffs, community leader Enoque Marubo and Brazillian activist Flora Dutra, who helped to distribute the 20 $15,000 Starlink antennas to the tribe, said the NYT story helped fuel "a global media storm", according to the Courthouse News Service.
>This, they said, subjected them to "humiliation, harassment and irreparable harm to their reputations and safety".
>An Amazonian tribe has sued the New York Times (NYT) over a report about the community gaining access to high-speed internet, which it claims led to its members being labelled as porn addicts.
>The defamation lawsuit said the US newspaper's report portrayed the Marubo tribe as "unable to handle basic exposure to the internet" and highlighted "allegations that their youth had become consumed by pornography".
>The lawsuit also named TMZ and Yahoo as defendants, and said their news stories "mocked their youth" and "misrepresented their traditions". The NYT said its report did not say any of the tribe's members were addicted to porn. TMZ and Yahoo have been contacted for comment.
>The Marubo, an Indigenous community of about 2,000 people, is seeking at least $180m (£133m) in damages. The NYT's story, written nine months after the Marubo gained access to Starlink, a satellite-internet service from Elon Musk's SpaceX, said the tribe was "already grappling with the same challenges that have racked American households for years".
>This included "teenagers glued to phones", "violent video games" and "minors watching pornography", the report said. It stated that a community leader and vocal critic of the internet was "most unsettled by the pornography", and had been told of "more aggressive sexual behaviour" from young men.
>The report also noted the perceived benefits of the internet among the tribe, including the ability to alert authorities to health issues and environmental destruction and stay in touch with faraway family.
>The named plaintiffs, community leader Enoque Marubo and Brazillian activist Flora Dutra, who helped to distribute the 20 $15,000 Starlink antennas to the tribe, said the NYT story helped fuel "a global media storm", according to the Courthouse News Service.
>This, they said, subjected them to "humiliation, harassment and irreparable harm to their reputations and safety".
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