Elon Musk has responded to the widely publicised allegations that the introduction of Starlink Internet led to an isolated Amazon community becoming exposed to pornography. The allegations stemmed from a story in the New York Times detailing the impact of Starlink service on the Marubo tribe in Brazil. According to the report, the tribe’s 2,000 young members started using private chat rooms to exchange explicit content.
“The Marubo people are not addicted to pornography,” the New York Times said in an article that was published on June 11.
The article covered concerns expressed by a Marubo official regarding young people sharing pornographic content in WhatsApp groups. It highlighted the fact that public display of affection was forbidden in Marubo culture.
An X user shared a screenshot of the New York Times’ update after the publisher issued an explanation. The individual claimed that the NYT had initially published a fake report regarding Starlink but has now apologised and updated its version.
The CEO of SpaceX retweeted on X, “It was disrespectful & unkind of The New York Times to say that about the tribe.”
It was disrespectful & unkind of The New York Times to say that about the tribe https://t.co/f9niaekPtD— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 12, 2024
On the other hand, the president of the Kapyvanaway Association of Marubo ethnicity, Enoque Marubo, who introduced Starlink to his tribe’s communities, released a video on Instagram on Sunday night denouncing the headlines as “fake news.”
He made it clear that he was sharing the video in order to refute the false information that has been making the rounds for the last week, which claims that the introduction of the internet into these villages has led to a pornography addiction.
According to him, the claims are baseless, inaccurate and simply represent a prejudiced ideological trend that disregards their “autonomy and identity.”
For almost a century, the Marubo tribe has served as a global “showcase,” but according to Enoque, “this bubble should no longer exist.”
“We want our autonomy and we are tired of the violation of our rights,” he said.
He continued by emphasising that The NYT had focused more on the negative features, which had caused the spread of an inaccurate and harmful perspective.
Enoque said the Marubo uses the internet as “a very important tool.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/C8AGodqOPoh/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again
Meanwhile, the NYT has accused other media organisations of using its material to create “sensationalist headlines.”
Comments
0 comment