It was an unusual ruling against a media outlet in a defamation case. Libel laws are generally protective of news organizations, and plaintiffs must meet a high standard to prove defamation.
The jury in Panama City, Florida, deliberated for more than eight hours starting Thursday before ruling in favor of Zachary Young, who blamed CNN for destroying his business by showing his face onscreen in a story about a “black market” of smuggling out desperate Afghans for high fees.
The jury awarded Young $5 million in damages and is now being asked to determine whether CNN must pay additional punitive damages.
Young had argued that his business targeted sponsors who could afford to pay for Afghans to get out, not individual Afghans charged as much as $10,000 for the service. While CNN said it was wrong to use the phrase “black market,” it contended that its reporting on Young was accurate.
CNN said it would have no comment on the verdict until after the punitive damages part of the trial is concluded.
At a trial located in a conservative part of the country, Young's lawyers urged jurors to send a message to the media. Questions submitted by jurors during the trial telegraphed some hostility, with one wondering whether CNN had treated the plaintiff as guilty until proven innocent.
Private messages also became part of the trial, with plaintiffs showing internal messages where CNN's reporter, Alex Marquardt, said some profane and unflattering things about Young. Marquardt testified in the trial that his story “was not a hit piece.”
Marquardt's story first aired on Nov. 11, 2021, during Jake Tapper's CNN broadcast, and subsequent printed stories were used on the network's website.
