OAN Staff Blake Wolf
3:54 PM – Thursday, January 16, 2025
A Florida jury has found that CNN defamed a Navy veteran regarding a 2021 story about the veteran, suggesting that he was running a “black market” by charging “exorbitant prices” to evacuate individuals from Afghanistan during the U.S. withdrawal process.
Advertisement
The jury in Panama City, Florida, deliberated for over eight hours on Thursday, awarding Navy veteran Zachary Young $5 million in compensatory damages.
At the time of the Taliban takeover of the country in 2021, CNN’s Jake Tapper reported that Young was engaging in the “black market,” smuggling desperate Afghans out of the country for extremely high fees.
Throughout the trial, Young argued that his business propositioned sponsors who could afford to pay for the extraction of friends and family, rather than charging Afghans themselves up to $10,000 to escape the war-torn country.
Throughout the trial, CNN editors attempted to defend utilizing the term “black market” in the story, arguing that the term was utilized to express that Young’s company was operating in unregulated circumstances.
Young’s lawyers responded, arguing that the dictionary definition of the term implies illegal acts. The defendant’s lawyers also argued that the CNN report ended up costing him millions, while also inflicting “deep and lasting wounds,” causing irreparable personal harm.
“Media executives around the country are sitting by the phones to see what you do,” Young’s lead attorney, Devin Freedman, told the jurors.
“A media company has to face an American jury with the power to punish. That is not a frequent event. Do you believe that CNN should be punished? Do you believe they should send a message to other media companies to avoid this misconduct?” he continued. “CNN’s executives are waiting in their boardrooms in Georgia to see what you decide. Make the phones ring in Georgia. Send a message.”
Jurors took the opportunity to question CNN’s journalistic integrity, with one of the jurors reportedly questioning whether CNN had treated Young as “guilty until proven innocent,” according to the Associated Press.
Additionally, the trial also featured private messages from CNN reporter Alex Marquardt, who reportedly had profane words for Young’s actions. Marquardt also testified throughout the trial that the story in question “was not a hit piece.”
CNN decided not to comment on the outcome of the case. The left-leaning outlet also agreed to an undisclosed settlement reached on Friday pertaining to punitive damages, according to the judge involved in the suit.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Advertisements below