CNN defamation trial: Case expected to be lost, but still bruise for network, source says

A CNN employee says he might have expected to lose a high-profile defamation case this week within the network, but that didn’t stop him from leaving a mark.

“Being found liable for defamation and dishonesty is a bad thing,” the employee said bluntly in a message to Fox News Digital.

Navy veteran Zachary Young successfully alleged that CNN defamed him by implying that he illegally profited from helping people flee Afghanistan on the “black market” during the The Biden administration military withdrawal from the country in 2021. Young believes CNN “destroyed his reputation and business” by calling him an illicit profiteer who exploited “desperate Afghans” during the November 11, 2021 report that first aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper” on CNN. “.

After a chaotic trial that took place over two weeks in Florida, the jury ruled that Young should be awarded $4 million in lost profits and $1 million in personal damages, and also found that punitive damages against CNN were warranted. Before the jury could rule on the latter amount, CNN and Young reached a settlement.

JURY FINDS CNN COMMITTED DEFAMATION AGAINST NAVY VETERAN, AND AGREEMENT WAS REACHED ON PUNITIVE DAMAGES

Afterward, Young said he felt “vindication.”

“It’s been three long years, and to get the result we wanted, which was a public vindication, is an incredible feeling, and I’m glad it’s over, and we don’t have to spend more years and more time arguing.” about the meaning of a word,” said Young Fox News Digital on Friday.

Although it received little press coverage at first, as the trial drew to a close, the case attracted more attention from the mainstream media and Friday’s verdict was widely covered.

Young’s legal team obtained internal CNN messages through discoveries that repeatedly showed employees expressing hostility toward the Navy veteran.

Among those presented to the jury was one who called him a “shit” and an “asshole,” and another who said he has a “face you can punch.” It was also revealed that Alex MarquardtThe CNN correspondent who led the report on air told a colleague “we’re going to get this Zachary Young mf—er,” who was repeatedly quoted during the case, and said the report was going to be “your funeral.” “. bucko,” referring to Young in an exchange with a colleague.

A CNN spokesperson said the network would learn “useful lessons” from the case.

PLAINTIFF IN CNN DEFAMATION TRIAL CELEBRATES ‘VINDICATION’ AFTER COURT DRAMA: ‘I’M GLAD IT’S OVER’

“We remain proud of our journalists and are 100% committed to strong, courageous and unbiased reporting on CNN, though we will of course learn what useful lessons we can from this case,” CNN said in a statement after the settlement.

The CNN employee told Fox News Digital that they did not believe the problems that arose in CNN journalism with this story reflected cultural issues within the company.

“The messages were bad… But I don’t think it’s a cultural issue across the entire network,” they said. “It seemed to me that he was an overzealous reporter, just someone who believed something to be true and framed the information in that context… he found information that supported that and didn’t look critically at his own conclusions.”

They added that this comes at a time when morale is low at the network, which is dealing with low ratings and Pending layoffs reportedand there seemed to be no “union behind” the flag internally.

A spokesperson responded to reports about CNN’s financial health by calling it “very healthy” and noting a report showing that parent company Warner Bros. Discovery was making an investment of more than $70 million in its digital pivot.

Another CNN insider told Fox News Digital than private messages that emerged in the discovery were “damning things.”

CNN DEFAMATION TRIAL: THE EDITOR WHO SAID THE STORY WAS ‘FULL OF HOLES LIKE SWISS CHEESE’ GRILLED IN THE WITNESS STAND

Elsewhere in the trial, CNN senior national security editor Thomas Lumley was questioned after internal messages showed he was highly skeptical of the “quite flawed” report. Lumley was called as a witness after internal messages showed he felt the report was “full of holes like Swiss cheese.”

Another reporter involved in the story, Katie Bo Lillis, acknowledged that she didn’t think about how much the segment could affect Young; The plaintiff said it ruined his reputation and also had a drastic effect on his personal life. leaving him depressed and castrated.

Several CNN figures also testified that they disagreed with the network’s decision to apologize in 2022 for suggesting Young operated in a “black market.”

“The woeful performance of CNN journalists on the witness stand… heightens the impact of Young against CNN,” the Washington Post wrote. Erik Wemple wrote. “They stumbled under questioning; they did not defend a key wording choice; and in certain cases, as in the Lillis case, they seemed clueless about the impact of their own massive network, which reaches more than 70 million homes in the United States. USA. “.

“CNN should be deeply ashamed that despite layers and layers of editorial staff, they were unable to perform basic journalistic functions or overcome the clear dysfunction between arrogant, overpaid TV stars playing cowardly journalists and editors,” said a former CNN employee. CNN who still works in the industry. FoxNewsDigital.

CNN’s media unit has offered scant coverage of the case. Hadas Gold media correspondent published a short article about the verdict, and chief media analyst Brian Stelter made a brief mention of the outcome in his Reliable Sources newsletter on Friday, in addition to one at the start of the trial on January 6. According to a search by Grabien, CNN has not covered the lawsuit or the jury’s decision on air.

After the case ended, Young told Fox News Digital that he had no animosity toward the network, but hoped CNN and other media organizations would learn from the experience.

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“I hope you take this as an opportunity to look in the mirror and realize that there is room for change and improvement, and if that’s the outcome you have at CNN, then maybe others in the media can see that too.” something positive,” he said.