{"id":2391757,"date":"2025-01-17T13:45:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T18:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-found-liable-for-defaming-u-s-navy-veteran-zachary-young\/"},"modified":"2025-01-17T13:46:50","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T18:46:50","slug":"cnn-found-liable-for-defaming-u-s-navy-veteran-zachary-young","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-found-liable-for-defaming-u-s-navy-veteran-zachary-young\/","title":{"rendered":"CNN Found Liable For Defaming U.S. Navy Veteran Zachary Young"},"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%2Fcnn-found-liable-for-defaming-u-s-navy-veteran-zachary-young%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=2391757&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>A jury found CNN liable for defaming U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, awarding him $4\u200b million in \u2062economic damages and $1 million for emotional distress. Following about eight hours \u2064of \u200bdeliberation, the jurors concluded that CNN\u2063 committed both \u2064&#8221;defamation per se&#8221; and &#8220;defamation by implication.&#8221; The case stemmed from a November 2021 segment that \u2063incorrectly portrayed Young as exploiting Afghans \u200cby offering evacuation services on a &#8220;black\u2062 market.&#8221; Young \u200bargued that the accusation made \u2062him <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jurors-riveted-by-evidence-cnn-defamed-navy-vet-reports\/\" title=\"Jurors Riveted By Evidence CNN Defamed Navy Vet: Reports\">permanently unemployable<\/a> \u2063and emphasized his efforts to align corporate sponsorships for the evacuations, rather than \u2063seeking \u200dfinancial gain from\u2063 individuals.The juryS ruling also indicated that punitive damages would be considered in the \u200dnext phase of the\u200d trial, aimed at deterring CNN and other networks from similar conduct.  <\/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=aZPZrRSUTx4\">  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\/17\/cnn-found-liable-for-defaming-u-s-navy-veteran-who-repeatedly-informed-network-it-had-facts-wrong\/\" 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=CNN%20Found%20Liable%20For%20Defaming%20U.S.%20Navy%20Veteran%20Who%20Repeatedly%20Informed%20Network%20It%20Had%20%E2%80%98Facts%E2%80%99%20Wrong&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/17\/cnn-found-liable-for-defaming-u-s-navy-veteran-who-repeatedly-informed-network-it-had-facts-wrong\/\" 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=CNN%20Found%20Liable%20For%20Defaming%20U.S.%20Navy%20Veteran%20Who%20Repeatedly%20Informed%20Network%20It%20Had%20%E2%80%98Facts%E2%80%99%20Wrong&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/17\/cnn-found-liable-for-defaming-u-s-navy-veteran-who-repeatedly-informed-network-it-had-facts-wrong\/\" 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\/17\/cnn-found-liable-for-defaming-u-s-navy-veteran-who-repeatedly-informed-network-it-had-facts-wrong\/\" 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=CNN%20Found%20Liable%20For%20Defaming%20U.S.%20Navy%20Veteran%20Who%20Repeatedly%20Informed%20Network%20It%20Had%20%E2%80%98Facts%E2%80%99%20Wrong&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/17\/cnn-found-liable-for-defaming-u-s-navy-veteran-who-repeatedly-informed-network-it-had-facts-wrong\/\" 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>CNN was found liable on Friday for defaming U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young.<\/p>\n<p>Following roughly eight hours of deliberations, jurors found CNN both &ldquo;committed defamation per se&rdquo; and &ldquo;committed defamation by implication.&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__b89e9-584463236\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/17\/navy-vets-attorney-in-cnn-defamation-case-implores-jury-to-stand-up-against-fake-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jurors<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n<p>The case arose after <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/11\/jake-tappers-lead-in-did-that-editor-takes-the-stand-to-defend-allegedly-defamatory-cnn-report-on-navy-vet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CNN<\/a> aired a segment in November of 2021 on &ldquo;The Lead with Jake Tapper&rdquo; that falsely framed Young as exploiting Afghans by offering evacuations from Afghanistan on a &ldquo;black market.&rdquo; A court later found Young did nothing illegal. Young alleged the segment &ldquo;rendered Young permanently unemployable&rdquo; because the use of the term &ldquo;black market&rdquo; in the chyron implied Young was engaged in <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">illegal conduct &#038;mdash<\/a>; something his 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>.<\/p>\n<p>As Young testified &mdash; and as <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\">messages show<\/a> &mdash; he informed CNN&rsquo;s Katie Bo Lillis that rather than seeking money for evacuation costs directly from Afghans he was &ldquo;focused on aligning corporate sponsors who have the resources to support with those afghans most in need.&rdquo; Lillis pressed Young on his pricing model and further asked whether Young had ever successfully evacuated anyone. Notably, Young <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/13\/lawyer-cnn-propagandist-tried-to-find-dirt-on-navy-veteran-7-times-failed-and-still-published-a-hit-piece-with-no-evidence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">evacuated<\/a> nearly two dozen Afghans, including a child, a fact that was conveniently left out of CNN&rsquo;s report and digital story.<\/p>\n<p>Before ending his exchange with Lillis, Young warned her to &ldquo;please make sure you have your facts aligned before taking a few text messages&rdquo; with random sources and &ldquo;running with it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>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 &ldquo;not a realistic deadline&rdquo; but that &ldquo;I can tell you for sure, some of your facts\/assertions [are] not accurate, and if they are published, I will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kendall-qualls-black-families-need-fathers-not-reparations-for-slavery\/\" title=\"Kendall Qualls: Black Families Need Fathers \u2014 Not Reparations For Slavery\">seek legal damages<\/a>.&rdquo; Evidence presented to jurors also showed that Marquardt <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/13\/lawyer-cnn-propagandist-tried-to-find-dirt-on-navy-veteran-7-times-failed-and-still-published-a-hit-piece-with-no-evidence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tried seven times to find dirt<\/a> on Young and struck out each time, finding no evidence of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless the defamatory segment was aired later that day and then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/cnn-heads-court-high-stakes-defamation-trial-about-afghanistan-segment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">re-aired<\/a> and shared across social media and CNN&rsquo;s website. <\/p>\n<p>Young <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/08\/navy-veteran-suing-cnn-for-defamation-breaks-down-at-trial-ive-just-been-completely-destroyed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testified<\/a> that the report &ldquo;wrecked&rdquo; 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.<\/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; Young testified. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m humiliated about that.&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\/alex-marquardt\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Alex Marquardt<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/black-market\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Black Market<\/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\/slander\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">slander<\/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>CNN was found liable for defaming Navy veteran Zachary Young<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2391759,"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-2025-01-17-at-1.31.02-PM-e1737138797277-1024x576.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[9373,9142,33211,48699,48700],"class_list":["post-2391757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cnn","tag-defamation","tag-legal-news","tag-u-s-navy-veteran","tag-zachary-young"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Screenshot-2025-01-17-at-1.31.02-PM-e1737138797277-1024x576.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391757","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=2391757"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2391762,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391757\/revisions\/2391762"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2391759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2391757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2391757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2391757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}