Amazonian Tribe Sues New York Times, TMZ, For Defamation Alleging They Were Framed As “Addicted To Porn”

Here’s one you don’t see every day.

The Marubo Tribe of Brazil’s Amazon has filed a defamation lawsuit in Los Angeles against The New York Times, alleging its coverage of the tribe’s first internet access portrayed them as tech-addicted and obsessed with pornography, according to the New York Post.

The suit, seeking hundreds of millions in damages, also names TMZ and Yahoo for amplifying and sensationalizing the story.

The article “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 suit continues: “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.”

The Times responded to AP saying: “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.”

In his original piece, NYT reporter Jack Nicas wrote the tribe was experiencing challenges familiar worldwide: “teenagers glued to phones; group chats full of gossip; addictive social networks; online strangers; violent video games; scams; misinformation; and minors watching pornography.” He added a tribal leader “is most unsettled by the pornography,” noting young men were sharing explicit videos despite cultural norms that “frown on kissing in public.”

The Post report says that TMZ amplified this angle, publishing a video titled “Elon Musk’s Starlink Hookup Leaves A Remote Tribe Addicted To Porn,” which the lawsuit says “falsely framed the Marubo Tribe as having descended into moral collapse.”

In response, the Times published a follow-up stating, “The Marubo people are not addicted to pornography,” and that the article didn’t suggest otherwise. But the tribe says the follow-up “failed to acknowledge the role the NYT itself played in fueling the defamatory narrative.”

The lawsuit also disputes Nicas’s reporting, claiming he stayed less than 48 hours, not the full week he said. Plaintiffs include community leader Enoque Marubo and journalist Flora Dutra, who helped bring internet access to the tribe and say TMZ’s coverage created the “unmistakable impression” they had introduced harmful content.