USA – CNN defamed an Afghan war veteran by falsely accusing him of running a ‘black market’ for Afghanistan evacuations and must pay him USD 5 million damages. Jurors found the embattled network liable for defaming Zachary Young, 49, at a Florida courthouse Friday afternoon. Young will take home even more cash than the amount so-far awarded, as it does not take into account punitive damages. 

Young is a US Navy veteran turned security consultant helped evacuate Afghan people to safety following President Biden’s disastrous withdrawal in 2021. He was named in a CNN segment claiming private contractors were charging up to USD 14,000 for ‘black market’ evacuations. Young said he’d never accepted any money from Afghans who needed rescued and relied on corporate and nongovernmental organization sponsorships to help people flee.

The defamatory broadcast was screened in November 2021 and opened with Jake Tapper claiming Afghans trying to flee the surging Taliban ‘face a black market full of promises, demand of exorbitant fees and no guarantee of safety or success.’ Tapper then cut to CNN’s chief security correspondent Alex Marquardt claiming that an Afghan man in the US had found people on Facebook charging USD 10,000 to evacuate relatives. Marquardt claimed ‘desperate Afghans are now being exploited’ by ‘exorbitant and impossible’ amounts.

It then displayed a LinkedIn post from Zachary Young advertising his services. Young filed his defamation lawsuit in 2022 and successfully alleged that CNN had damaged his reputation by lying that he was taking advantage of the withdrawal. After being threatened by Young, CNN made an apology, issued a retraction and removed the segment from public view. (Dailymail)