Florida jury says CNN defamed Navy veteran in story about endangered Afghans

After a Florida jury found that CNN defamed a U.S. Navy veteran who helped rescue endangered Afghans, the network reached a settlement on Friday to avoid a punishing order that it pay punitive damages. Young blamed CNN for destroying his business through a 2021 story on Jake Tapper’s broadcast about a “black market” of extracting desperate Afghans following the Taliban takeover. CNN contended its reporting was fair and accurate, although the network did issue a statement a few months after the story aired apologizing for using the phrase “black market.” At a trial located in a conservative part of the country, Young’s lawyers urged jurors to send a message to the media. Marquardt testified in the trial that his story, which aired on Nov. 11, 2021, and was followed up with print pieces on CNN’s website, “was not a hit piece.” Defamation trials are actually rare in the United States, in part because strong constitutional protections for the press make proving libel difficult.