Today in Focus Social media Colonialism for clicks? The influencers targeting uncontacted tribes – podcast Features writer Elle Hunt and indigenous activist María José Andrade Cerda on the growing phenomenon of influencers around the world trying to reach uncontacted tribes
More ways to listen Apple podcasts Spotify RSS Feed Download Presented by Helen Pidd with Elle Hunt and Maria Jose Andrade Cerda; produced by Tom Glasser and Brian McNamara ; executive producer Sami Kent Mon 5 Oct 2026 04.00 CEST Share The Sentinelese, living on North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal, are one of the most isolated peoples on earth.
Part of an archipelago governed by India , it is prohibited by law to venture within 5km of their island. And when a missionary did manage to land on the beach in 2018, he was killed by bow and arrow.
Yet none of that was to deter influencer Mykhailo Polyakov, who last year filmed himself arriving on North Sentinel Island, and leaving a can of coke on the beach.
Features writer Elle Hunt documents the rise of a new breed of influencer, travelling around the world, and streaming to millions their attempts to contact the uncontacted – despite the warnings of indigenous rights groups that the consequences could be fatal, both for the social media stars and the communities they risk exposing to disease.
Helen Pidd also speaks to Ecuadorian indigenous rights activist María José Andrade Cerda about the rights and wrongs of this new world.