Didn't have this on my Bingo card.
We reported on this story last year. As it turns out, the Marubo tribe was a little upset about the whole ordeal.
So, they are suing the paper for $180 million over defamation claims. From the BBC:
The named plaintiffs, community leader Enoque Marubo and Brazilian activist Flora Dutra, who assisted in distributing the 20 $15,000 Starlink antennas to the tribe, stated that the NYT story drove 'a global media storm', according to Courthouse News Service.
They claimed that this subjected them to 'humiliation, harassment and irreparable harm to their reputations and safety'.
Of course, The New York Times denies any wrongdoing.
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.
Now consider this:
The lawsuit claims,
More than 100 websites around the world have published headlines that falsely claim the Marubo have become addicted to porn.
It's funny how everyone who read the initial article thought "Oh, wow! That Amazonian tribe got addicted to porn," but The New York Times seems to think that no rational person would take their first article that way.
But it was actually pretty clear. From the original NYT report:
After only nine months with Starlink, the Marubo are already grappling with the same challenges that have racked American households for years: teenagers glued to phones; group chats full of gossip; addictive social networks; online strangers; violent video games; scams; misinformation; and minors watching pornography.
...
Alfredo Marubo, leader of a Marubo association of villages, has emerged as the tribe's most vocal critic of the internet. The Marubo pass down their history and culture orally, and he worries that knowledge will be lost. 'Everyone is so connected that sometimes they don't even talk to their own family,' he said.
He is most unsettled by the pornography. He said young men were sharing explicit videos in group chats, a stunning development for a culture that frowns on kissing in public. 'We're worried young people are going to want to try it,' he said of the graphic sex depicted in the videos. He said some leaders had told him they had already observed more aggressive sexual behavior from young men.
So, yeah...
It's hard to predict how this one's going to go.
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