CNN on trial in Florida for defamation of navy veteran amid broader media scrutiny
Date
1/12/2025 4:30:41 AM
(MENAFN) CNN is on trial in Florida this week for allegedly defaming a Navy veteran who helped rescue endangered Afghans from that nation after the US withdrew its involvement in 2021, which comes at a particularly bad moment for legacy media and CNN.
When his face appeared on air during a story about a "black market" in smuggling out Afghans for huge fees during the Taliban control, Zachary Young, a veteran, accuses CNN of ruining his business.
Broadly speaking, weeks before Donald Trump is scheduled to start his second term as president, the case puts the news media on trial in his home state. Additionally, on the same day, Facebook's parent company announced a Trump-friendly policy of reversing fact checks. In his opening comments on Tuesday, Kyle Roche, Young's lawyer, capitalized on the dislike of the press.
“You’re going to have an opportunity to do something significant in this trial,” Roche said to jurors in Florida’s 14th Judicial Circuit Courts in Panama City on Tuesday. “You’re going to have an opportunity to send a message to mainstream media. You’re going to have an opportunity to change an industry.”
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