Report: 196 Uncontacted Indigenous Groups Face Extinction Within 10 Years

Report: 196 Uncontacted Indigenous Groups Face Extinction Within 10 Years
Above: Members of the Awá tribe cross the Pindaré River, Maranhão, Brazil, 2017.  Image copyright: Scott Wallace/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

Social media influencers are literally killing indigenous tribes for clicks and views. These wannabe adventurers are invading protected territories to grow their follower counts, bringing deadly diseases that could wipe out up to 80% of entire communities from a single contact. British YouTubers are bragging about detailed plans to illegally reach isolated islands, while American influencers blow whistles and leave Diet Coke as offerings to protected populations.

Establishment-critical narrative

Corporate greed and government failures are the real killers of uncontacted peoples, not individual tourists. Over 96% face threats from logging, mining and agribusiness that destroy entire forests and poison rivers. Brazil and Peru gladly accept millions in climate funding while simultaneously permitting the destruction of indigenous territories through weakened environmental laws and blocked land demarcation.


Articles on this story



© 2025 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.17.2

© 2025 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 6.17.2