‘Reckless and idiotic’: Influencer illegally visits uncontacted tribe on North Sentinel Island, leaves behind a can of coke

Influencers are not above doing some pretty crazy and stupid things for attention online, but one individual has possibly taken the cake for the craziest, stupidest thing a person can do by taking a boat out to North Sentinel Island, the home to one of the most notorious uncontacted tribes in the world.

Influencer Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, allegedly took a kayak out to the island presumably to make some viral content. When arrested the BBC reports that he told authorities he was a “thrill seeker” as if that excuses his poor decision.

Polyakov’s visit to the island

Police chief HGS Dhaliwal told local news agency AFP Mr. Polyakov spent about an hour just off the coast of North Sentinel Island, blowing a whistle to try and get the attention of the tribe. He landed on shore for about five minutes to leave a can of Coke and a coconut before taking some samples and recording a video.

Reports have also linked Polyakov to a YouTube account which features videos of his travels. One recent upload apparently documents his trip to Afghanistan.

Who are the Sentinelese?

For those unaware, the Sentinelese are an uncontacted tribe who reside on one of the Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Indian Ocean. It is illegal for foreigners to even travel within five kilometers (3 miles) of the island’s shore. The tribe have made it very clear that they do not want any interaction with the outside world and they can be pretty hostile — people who visit the island risk losing their lives. In 2018, a 27-year-old missionary was killed by the tribe after travelling to the island.

However, the main reason travelling to the island is illegal is because the tribe does not have any immunity to outside diseases. This means even a common cold could potentially be devastating for them. It’s estimated that around 200 people belong to the Sentinelese tribe, Polyakov could have risked wiping all of them out with his little stunt.

Influencers are a big threat to the Sentinelese

Survival International called Mr. Polyakov’s actions “reckless and stupid,” going on to say that it was “deeply disturbing” that he was able to even get to the island. Jonathan Mazower, a spokesperson for the organization, claimed “there are now an increasing number of… influencers who are trying to do this kind of thing for followers,” he told the BBC that “There’s a growing social media fascination with this whole idea.”

Uncontacted tribes face numerous threats from human activities such as logging and mining in the Amazon (where many other such tribes live) so it’s important to respect their territories and not interfere with their way of life.