A Florida jury on Friday found CNN guilty of libeling a U.S. Navy veteran in a 2021 story about people paid to rescue endangered Afghans following the Taliban takeover of that country.

A Florida jury on Friday found TV news provider CNN liable for defaming a U.S. Navy veteran who helped evacuate people from Afghanistan after the U.S. military withdrew from the country in 2021. The six-person jury said CNN had to pay damages totaling $5 million.

Zachary Young alleged CNN smeared him by implying he illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan on the "black market" during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021.

The jury awarded Zachary Young $5 million in compensatory damages and found that the security contractor should also receive punitive damages for his pain and suffering.

CNN chief national security correspondent Alexander Marquardt testified earlier this week that he did not produce a “hit piece” on the Navy veteran. He and others with the net

A jury in Florida on Friday found that CNN defamed a Navy veteran with a report on his business that aired in 2021 and awarded him $5 million damages. The plaintiff, Zachary Young, sued the network saying it harmed his business by including him in a 2021 segment about contractors who the report suggested