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

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.

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

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.

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 settled with a security consultant after a Florida jury found the network had defamed him in a story that suggested he was charging "exorbitant prices" to evacuate people from Afghanistan in 2021.

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.

CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt defended his story on Zachary Young, a security consultant who charged $14,000 or more to evacuate people from Afghanistan.