CNN could soon land in a Florida courtroom as it faces a defamation lawsuit from a security contractor who took payments to evacuate people out of Afghanistan following the U.S. military’s 2021 withdrawal. The contractor, Zachary Young, was included in a November 2021 segment on war profiteers charging high prices to assist people in fleeing Afghanistan after the U.S. exited.
Right-wing media watchdogs and commentators have seized on the case as evidence that CNN and other mainstream outlets are not to be trusted. CNN declined comment on the matter. In a court filing, the network said the segment presented “only what it knew to be true.” CNN never described Young's activity as illegal and argued that the term 'black market' was used to describe an unregulated system to get Afghans out of the country, according to court filings.