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High-Definition Video Purports to Show Uncontacted Mashco Piro Released on Lex Fridman Podcast

The release is prompting fresh scrutiny of how publicity and outreach affect the safety of isolated Amazonian communities.

Overview

  • Conservationist Paul Rosolie shared previously unseen footage during a Jan. 14 appearance on Lex Fridman’s show, and international outlets began reporting on it Jan. 16.
  • The video shows armed tribesmen emerging onto a riverbank in formation and later lowering their weapons as a canoe filled with bananas is offered.
  • Coverage attributes the scene to remote southeast Peru near the Brazil border and identifies the group as the Mashco Piro based on Rosolie’s account.
  • Rosolie and reports describe the group as historically using violence to deter contact, while population estimates and links to alleged 2024 killings remain unverified in the articles.
  • Commentary around the footage stresses strict no-contact policies and disease risks, and Rosolie says he released it to bolster protection efforts while urging that the group be left alone.