CNN lost one court case that is bad news for the left-wing media
The pro-Democrat media is facing a reckoning.
It’s a moment of truth that no one thought would ever occur.
And CNN lost one court case that is bad news for the left-wing media.
A jury in Florida awarded Navy veteran Zachary Young $5 million in damages as part of a defamation suit Young brought against CNN for a segment that ran on Jake Tapper’s show where national security correspondent Alex Marquardt falsely claimed Young extorted Afghan refugees looking to flee the country following the Taliban takeover in 2021 as part of a black market scheme.
CNN ran chyrons that read “Afghans trying to flee Taliban face black markets, exorbitant fees, no guarantee of safety or success” as well as “Afghans and activists report demands of $10k-$14k for attempts to get family members out of the country.”
“As CNN’s Alexander Marquardt has discovered, Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success,” Tapper said introducing the segment.
CNN’s internal communication doomed the network at trial as they showed Marquardt wanted to get Young.
“We gonna nail this Zachary Young mf*****” Marquardt wrote, adding that the report would be his “funeral.”
Another CNN producer described Young as having a “punchable face.”
Young’s lawsuit contended that CNN’s falsehoods damaged him professionally and financially by making him permanently unemployable.
“Clients and colleagues in the national security community simply cannot associate with anyone involved in ‘black markets’ or ‘exploitation,’” the lawsuit read. “Thus, despite their falsity, CNN’s defamatory comments have rendered Young permanently unemployable in the career he has trained his whole life for, have resulted in Young’s income plunging to nothing, and have caused Young to suffer millions of dollars in lost income.”
CNN knew the segment was problematic.
Emails from a CNN producer called the story “a mess,” described it as “incomplete,” adding that it was “very much not ready for prime time,” that it was “80% emotion, 20% obscured fact,” as well as “full of holes like Swiss cheese.”
In addition to the $5 million award, the jury also awarded Young punitive damages.
During the trial, CNN’s lawyers argued not to give Young a major award because CNN was struggling financially, and a major loss at trial would damage its ability to report on the news.
The potential of a massive punitive damage award scared CNN, who quickly agreed to a settlement with Young where one of the conditions was no one could reveal the dollar amount.
CNN is the second left-wing media outlet to settle a defamation case in recent weeks.
ABC paid a $16 million settlement to Donald Trump after anchor George Stephanopoulos falsely claimed a jury in New York adjudicated Donald Trump as a rapist.
Pro-Democrat media outlets have long been to get away with saying whatever they wanted about conservatives.
But the targets of hit pieces are starting to fight back and win big time.
