A Florida jury concluded the network smeared the man’s reputation, awarding $5 million for losses and suffering and weighing additional punitive damages.

CNN has been found liable for defaming a security consultant featured in a report about the black market to evacuate Afghans during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal.

A Florida jury on Friday determined that CNN defamed security contractor Zachary Young, who argued that his reputation and business were destroyed after he was featured in a November 2021 segment on the network about the high costs of evacuating Afghans from the country after the Taliban took power.

CNN reached a settlement on Friday with a U.S. Navy veteran who helped evacuate people from Afghanistan after the U.S. military withdrew from the country in 2021, a judge said on Friday, hours after a jury found the TV news outlet liable for defaming him.

The jury deliberated for more than eight hours starting before ruling in favor of Zachary Young in his defamation suit against CNN.

The rare trial rare defamation trial involving a major media company could serve as a deterrent to other outlets.

Zachary Young alleged CNN defamed him in a report by chief security correspondent Alex Marquardt that said he operated in a "black market."

Zachary Young sued the network in 2021 after it ran a segment on contractors profiting off refugees trying to flee Afghanistan in the 2021 withdrawal, including his business.

CNN reached a $5 million settlement with U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, averting a second trial phase over punitive damages. Young claimed CNN defamed him by labeling him a profiteer during the Afghan evacuation.

News network reached a deal with Zachary Young as it was facing potentially tens of millions of dollars in punitive damages.

A jury in Florida has found CNN liable for defaming a US Navy veteran in a 2021 segment on Afghanistan that included him.