{"id":2388010,"date":"2025-01-08T17:07:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T22:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/navy-veteran-suing-cnn-for-defamation-breaks-down-at-trial\/"},"modified":"2025-01-08T17:08:35","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T22:08:35","slug":"navy-veteran-suing-cnn-for-defamation-breaks-down-at-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/navy-veteran-suing-cnn-for-defamation-breaks-down-at-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Navy Veteran Suing CNN For Defamation Breaks Down At Trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnavy-veteran-suing-cnn-for-defamation-breaks-down-at-trial%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2388010&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Zachary Young, a U.S. \u2063Navy veteran,\u200c testified in court against CNN, breaking down as he described \u200dhow a 2021 segment from the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">network dramatically \u200baltered<\/a> his life. \u2062Young claims the \u2064segment falsely accused him of exploiting Afghans for \u2063evacuation during the withdrawal from Afghanistan and labeled his actions as part of a &#8220;black market.&#8221; This allegation, he\u200c argues, has\u2062 rendered him permanently unemployable, as it cast him in a light of criminality, directly contradicting his defense contracts which forbade involvement in illegal activities. During his testimony, Young stated that\u2064 he has been\u200b unable to secure any work since the segment aired and shared the emotional toll it has taken on\u2062 him personally, mentioning struggles with depression and a sense\u200c of \u200bfailure, compounded by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/these-medication-side-effects-are-red-flags-that-shouldnt-be-ignored\/\" title=\"These Medication Side Effects Are Red Flags That Shouldn\u2019t Be Ignored\">medication side effects<\/a>. His case raises \u200csignificant concerns about the\u2063 impact of media misrepresentation on individuals&#8217; lives and careers.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6MrzRbhE1ek\">  Law&amp;Crime Network \/ YouTube <\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/08\/navy-veteran-suing-cnn-for-defamation-breaks-down-at-trial-ive-just-been-completely-destroyed\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Navy%20Veteran%20Suing%20CNN%20For%20Defamation%20Breaks%20Down%20At%20Trial:%20%E2%80%98I%E2%80%99ve%20Just%20Been%20Completely%20Destroyed%E2%80%99&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/08\/navy-veteran-suing-cnn-for-defamation-breaks-down-at-trial-ive-just-been-completely-destroyed\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Navy%20Veteran%20Suing%20CNN%20For%20Defamation%20Breaks%20Down%20At%20Trial:%20%E2%80%98I%E2%80%99ve%20Just%20Been%20Completely%20Destroyed%E2%80%99&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/08\/navy-veteran-suing-cnn-for-defamation-breaks-down-at-trial-ive-just-been-completely-destroyed\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/08\/navy-veteran-suing-cnn-for-defamation-breaks-down-at-trial-ive-just-been-completely-destroyed\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Navy%20Veteran%20Suing%20CNN%20For%20Defamation%20Breaks%20Down%20At%20Trial:%20%E2%80%98I%E2%80%99ve%20Just%20Been%20Completely%20Destroyed%E2%80%99&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/08\/navy-veteran-suing-cnn-for-defamation-breaks-down-at-trial-ive-just-been-completely-destroyed\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>U.S. Navy Veteran Zachary Young broke down in tears on the stand on Wednesday while testifying against CNN, explaining how a segment aired on the network in 2021 &ldquo;wrecked&rdquo; his life.<\/p>\n<p>Young was asked about his career following the Nov. 11, 2021 airing of a segment on CNN that Young <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/08\/navy-vet-warned-cnn-it-had-false-info-cnn-aired-it-anyway\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">alleges<\/a> falsely accused him of exploiting Afghans by offering evacuations from Afghanistan on a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnns-smear-tactics-could-cost-them-after-latest-court-ruling\/\" title=\"CNN&#039;s Smear Tactics Could Cost Them After Latest Court Ruling\">black market&#038;rdquo<\/a>; following the disastrous withdrawal. A court found Young &ldquo;did not act illegally or criminally.&rdquo; In his suit, Young alleges that the use of the term &ldquo;black market&rdquo; in the chyron &ldquo;rendered Young permanently unemployable&rdquo; because it implied Young was involved in illegal conduct. Young&rsquo;s defense contracts <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/08\/jurors-riveted-by-evidence-cnn-defamed-navy-vet-reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">expressly prohibited<\/a> involvement in &ldquo;black markets.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-559692146\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/08\/jurors-riveted-by-evidence-cnn-defamed-navy-vet-reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jurors<\/a> were shown <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NickFondacaro\/status\/1877074132845658328\">additional<\/a> contracts on Wednesday between Young and other corporations that were slated to be renewed prior to the CNN&rsquo;s airing of the segment.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Have you had any work &hellip; since the CNN broadcast?&rdquo; Young was asked during the hearing.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; he testified, adding he has not made any money since the broadcast.<\/p>\n<p>Young said that when he tried to offer evacuations following a crisis in Sudan, he received response on LinkedIn repeating the claims CNN aired about him. He went on to detail how the outlet&rsquo;s alleged defamatory segment has affected his personal life.<\/p>\n<p>Young said he has &ldquo;always been very proud&rdquo; of his ability &ldquo;to get back up&rdquo; after being &ldquo;knocked down,&rdquo; but that he&rsquo;s &ldquo;never had [his] life wrecked [like this].&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I know I&rsquo;m not the same man that I was. I know I&rsquo;m not the same person my wife married,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m humiliated about that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He went on to say he &ldquo;feel[s] like a total failure.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Young explained that has been on &ldquo;multiple medications&rdquo; for depression and panic attacks. He began to cry, noting how his intimacy with his wife has been negatively affected, but that he does not know &ldquo;if it&rsquo;s [because of] the trauma, or the medicine, or both.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been the rock, I&rsquo;ve always been the rock. I&rsquo;m not the rock that she married. I&rsquo;m not the one that has the stability. I have to lean on her for that, and it shouldn&rsquo;t be that way,&rdquo; Young said, further explaining that he &ldquo;stopped taking care&rdquo; of himself and &ldquo;wasn&rsquo;t using deodorant&rdquo; or showering.<\/p>\n<p>Young went on to describe the internal struggle he faces, explaining how he supports  his elderly mother. Young said he&rsquo;s &ldquo;lying&rdquo; to his mother when he tells her &ldquo;it&rsquo;s going to be okay&rdquo; because he doesn&rsquo;t know if things will be okay.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I try to tell myself it&rsquo;s going to be okay, too. Maybe in three or four years, everything changes, and I wake up from this thing that was a bad nightmare &mdash; I don&rsquo;t believe myself,&rdquo; Young said. &ldquo;Once something like this happens, it&rsquo;s forever, it&rsquo;s permanent, it doesn&rsquo;t go away. I feel like I&rsquo;ve just been completely destroyed, embarrassed, and emasculated &hellip; And now my family is still trying to work through that with me.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/afghanistan\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Afghanistan<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/afghanistan-withdrawal\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Afghanistan withdrawal<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/cnn\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">CNN<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/defamation\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">defamation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/jake-tapper\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Jake Tapper<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/media\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Media<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/navy\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Navy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/slander\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">slander<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/sudan\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Sudan<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/zachary-young\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Zachary Young<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. Navy Veteran Zachary Young wept on the stand while testifying against CNN, detailing how a 2021 segment devastated his life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2388011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Screenshot-2025-01-08-at-3.26.47-PM-e1736368143112-1024x577.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[9373,9142,4585,48110],"class_list":["post-2388010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cnn","tag-defamation","tag-lawsuit","tag-navy-veteran"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Screenshot-2025-01-08-at-3.26.47-PM-e1736368143112-1024x577.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2388010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2388010"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2388010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2388014,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2388010\/revisions\/2388014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2388011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2388010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2388010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2388010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}