CNN Found Liable For Defaming U.S. Navy Veteran Zachary Young

CNN was found liable on Friday for defaming U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young.

Following roughly eight hours of deliberations, jurors found CNN both “committed defamation per se” and “committed defamation by implication.”

Jurors awarded Young $4 million in economic damages and $1 million in emotional damages and agreed that punitive damages are warranted, prompting phase 2 of the trial. Punitive damages will be awarded to Young to dissuade CNN and other networks from doing what CNN did.

The case arose after CNN aired a segment in November of 2021 on “The Lead with Jake Tapper” that falsely framed Young as exploiting Afghans by offering evacuations from Afghanistan on a “black market.” A court later found Young did nothing illegal. Young alleged the segment “rendered Young permanently unemployable” because the use of the term “black market” in the chyron implied Young was engaged in illegal conduct — something his defense contracts expressly prohibited.

As Young testified — and as messages show — he informed CNN’s Katie Bo Lillis that rather than seeking money for evacuation costs directly from Afghans he was “focused on aligning corporate sponsors who have the resources to support with those afghans most in need.” Lillis pressed Young on his pricing model and further asked whether Young had ever successfully evacuated anyone. Notably, Young evacuated nearly two dozen Afghans, including a child, a fact that was conveniently left out of CNN’s report and digital story.

Before ending his exchange with Lillis, Young warned her to “please make sure you have your facts aligned before taking a few text messages” with random sources and “running with it.”

Alex Marquardt, the CNN reporter on the story, later contacted Young and gave him a two-hour deadline to respond to a litany of questions. Young informed Marquardt that two hours was not enough time to respond, eventually telling Marquardt it was “not a realistic deadline” but that “I can tell you for sure, some of your facts/assertions [are] not accurate, and if they are published, I will seek legal damages.” Evidence presented to jurors also showed that Marquardt tried seven times to find dirt on Young and struck out each time, finding no evidence of wrongdoing.

Nonetheless the defamatory segment was aired later that day and then re-aired and shared across social media and CNN’s website.

Young testified that the report “wrecked” his life and that he had not had any work since the segment aired. Young also detailed in emotional testimony how the report had affected his personal life.

“I know I’m not the same man that I was. I know I’m not the same person my wife married,” Young testified. “I’m humiliated about that.”