U.S. News & World Report has withdrawn a republished Associated Press report at the center of high-risk defamation lawsuits US Navy veteran Zachary Youngbut the Associated Press continued to stick to its report.
Young, who Successfully sued CNN Regarding defamation earlier this year, CNN alleges that he made illegal profits when the Biden administration helped people flee Afghanistan on the “black market” during its military evacuation from the country in 2021.
Yang filed a defamation lawsuit against the Associated Press on Friday, demanding that an article go further than CNN’s falsehood. In a court application obtained by Fox News Digital, Young’s attorney Daniel Lustig wrote: “The AP blatantly accused Mr. Young of engaging in criminal human smuggling.”
The Associated Press represented its report and vowed to “strongly defend” its own “freckless lawsuit,” but U.S. News & World Report deleted the collection of stories. A common practice in the news media is to repost stories from wire services such as AP and Reuters.
Navy veteran who proved CNN slandered him says he was falsely portrayed as a “smuggler”
Plaintiff Zachary Young successfully claimed that CNN hinted that he made illegal profits when helping people flee Afghanistan on the “black market” when the Biden administration evacuated the country in 2021. He is now suing the Associated Press. (CNN/screenshot)
“Retraction: U.S. News & World Report has deleted articles previously obtained on the website published on January 17, 2025, titled “The Florida jury said CNN defamated naval veterans in stories about endangered Afghans. “The article was reported by the Associated Press (AP) and written as an AP subscriber, and U.S. News republishes multiple AP articles regularly. AP report once existed.
“The Associated Press article reported that the jury found that the CNN report about Mr. Yang was wrongly suggesting that he was engaged in illegal activities,” U.S. News & World Report continued. “The Associated Press article also noted that ‘Young’s business helped smuggle people from Afghanistan.’ Mr. Young then contacted our news and opposed the term “smuggling” accusing him of engaging in criminal activities.
Jury found CNN slandered Navy veterans and settlements reached punitive damages
The jury found earlier this year that CNN slandered U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young.
Although U.S. News & World Report has withdrawn the story, other outlets in Reply AP reports such as Tribune and Waff in Minnesota remained as of Monday afternoon.
Young believes that the AP acts in actual malicious behavior and is seeking “losses over $50,000.00, excluding interest, costs and attorney fees.”
Young may modify the lawsuit to increase punitive damages.
“In essence, AP’s defamatory statements have dealt another blow to the plaintiff’s reputation and trade, which has exacerbated the damage that CNN’s report has already caused,” Young’s lawyer wrote.
The lawsuit continues: “Because in general, the publication will reasonably lead readers to false and defamatory conclusions about Mr. Young. “The Associated Press knows that this means it is wrong, that Mr. Young is not a smuggler of the crime, but allows it to be communicated to the reader, demonstrating disregard for the truth. ”
AP StyleBook is the industry standard for many news organizations, noting in 2019 that “usually involves illegal delivery of people on international borders in exchange for fees.”
CNN defamation jurors will award Navy veterans “up to $100 million” before reaching a settlement
U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young can return to court after filing a defamation lawsuit against the Associated Press. (Jessica Costescu)
Young’s lawyers believe that U.S. News and World Report did the right thing.
“Our news realizes that retracting the article is necessary because it is based on a lie to Mr. Yang – AP still refuses to do so. This withdrawal confirms what we have been saying: the allegations are false, reputational loss and should not be published in the first place,” Lustig told Fox News Digital.
Young is seeking the same location as CNN’s lawsuit: Bay County, Florida.
“The Associated Press story is a factual and accurate report about Zachary Young’s favorable jury verdict. We will vigorously defend our report to prevent this frivolous lawsuit.” Fox News Numbers last week.
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When asked about the withdrawal of U.S. News and World Report, AP directed Fox News Digital to the same statement.
