The New York Times has won dismissal of all allegations against the newspaper in a complaint in which an Amazonian tribe sued it and other media entities over 2024 reports about the community obtaining access to high-speed internet, which the tribe contends led to its young members being viewed as having porn fetishes.
The Los Angeles Superior Court defamation lawsuit contended that the NYT’s report portrayed the Marubo tribe as “unable to handle basic exposure to the internet” and spotlighted “allegations that their youth had become consumed by pornography.”
Late Tuesday, Judge Tiana J. Murillo granted the newspaper’s anti-SLAPP motion as well as that of an entertainment website. She heard arguments Sept. 15 and then took the issues under submission. Yahoo Inc. was dropped as a defendant on Sept. 9.
NYT attorneys contended the three reports were protected by free speech, that all of the causes of action should be tossed and that the insinuations of the plaintiffs are incorrect. The paper maintained the articles represented statements made in a public forum and that the stories reported on issues of public interest.
“While some may reasonably perceive the coverage by the New York Times and (the entertainment website) as insensitive, disparaging or reflecting a lack of respect, the court need not, and does not, determine which of these characterizations is most apt,” the judge wrote.
The plaintiffs, community leader Enoque Marubo and Brazillian activist Flora Dutra, maintain in the suit brought May 20 that the NYT made fun of their youth and misrepresented their traditions. In addition to defamation, the plaintiffs allege the paper is liable for false light invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, misappropriation of likeness, intrusion upon seclusion, fraudulent inducement negligence and unfair business practices
The state’s anti-SLAPP — Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation — law is intended to prevent people from using courts, and potential threats of a lawsuit, to intimidate those who are exercising their First Amendment rights.