CNN reaches $5m defamation settlement with US Navy veteran

A US Navy veteran who helped Afghans escape after the Taliban takeover in 2021 has won at least $5m (£4.1m) after a jury said he was defamed by American broadcaster CNN.

Zachary Young ran a private security firm, Nemex Enterprises, which extracted people from Afghanistan in exchange for fees sometimes totalling thousands of dollars, paid for by sponsors.

A CNN report aired in 2021 showed his face and described an alleged "black market" and said people were preying on escaping Afghans.

A six-person jury in Florida ruled in favour of Mr Young and ordered CNN to pay millions in compensatory damages.

The CNN report, broadcast on the network's The Lead with Jake Tapper show, said "desperate Afghans" were being "exploited" and faced "demands for exorbitant fees.

At trial, several internal messages were entered into evidence, including CNN employees talking about Mr Young in derogatory terms as well as other journalists who expressed reservations about the report.

Mr Young denied any exploitation and said Nemex's fees were paid for by corporations and charities who were willing to support at-risk Afghans being removed from the country after the chaotic US military withdrawal.

He said he did not charge Afghans themselves and specifically discouraged individuals from contacting his firm.

Although CNN issued a partial apology in March 2022 and said it regretted using the term "black market", the network said it stood by its reporting.

It said in a statement on Friday: "We remain proud of our journalists and are 100% committed to strong, fearless and fair-minded reporting at CNN, though we will of course take what useful lessons we can from this case."

Defamation cases are rare under US free-speech law, however in court filings Young argued that CNN gave him only two hours to respond to questions, and failed to perform basic checks.

"From the very beginning, it wasn't about money, it was about holding [CNN] accountable and exposing what they did to me," Young told the BBC by phone on Friday. "I've been vindicated."

He said his firm rescued 23 people – including a baby - in the aftermath of the US withdrawal, but since the CNN report, his business has dried up.

"I'm hoping that might change after today," he said.

A separate hearing had been scheduled to determine punitive damages – payouts designed to punish as a warning against future behaviour.

However, after the verdict, the two sides reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount of punitive damages.