U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, who successfully sued CNN for defamation earlier this year, filed a defamation lawsuit against the Associated Press on Friday for “an article that went even further than CNN’s falsehoods.”
Young successfully alleged that 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. In January, a six-person jury decided Young was owed $4 million in lost earnings, $1 million in personal damages such as pain and suffering and said that punitive damages were warranted against CNN. A settlement was reached before punitive damages were decided by the jury.
AP media reporter David Bauder wrote that “Young’s business helped smuggle people out of Afghanistan” when covering the CNN trial in a January 2025 article. This line didn’t sit well with the Navy veteran, and he has taken legal action over it.
In the court filing obtained by Fox News Digital, Young’s lawyer, Daniel Lustig, wrote that the “AP blatantly accused Mr. Young of engaging in criminal human smuggling.”
“In its article, AP published the defamatory statement, with actual malice, that Mr. Young’s business ‘helped smuggle people out of Afghanistan.’ This statement is categorically false. At the time of publication, AP knew or recklessly disregarded that a Florida court had already ruled Plaintiff committed no crime in connection with the Afghanistan evacuations. Mr. Young never smuggled anyone,” Young’s attorney wrote in the lawsuit.
“Describing Mr. Young’s lifesaving evacuations as ‘smuggling’ is not only grossly misleading, it charges Mr. Young with a serious crime. Human smuggling is a grave felony under U.S. law and it is condemned as a serious crime under international law,” the suit continues. “By accusing Mr. Young of human smuggling, AP effectively branded him a criminal.”
The lawsuit claims that the AP has used the term “smuggling” in dozens of prior articles to “describe plainly criminal conduct such as human trafficking, drug operations, and transnational crime.”
JURY FINDS CNN COMMITTED DEFAMATION AGAINST NAVY VETERAN, SETTLEMENT REACHED ON PUNITIVE DAMAGES
“AP’s decision to apply the same criminal label to Plaintiff — despite his lawful and court-vindicated actions — demonstrates knowledge of falsity or a reckless disregard for the truth. AP knew exactly what the phrase and word ‘smuggling’ meant,” Young’s attorney wrote.
“AP has not issued any retraction or correction. Its false accusation continues to spread worldwide via the AP network, devastating Mr. Young’s reputation and injuring Plaintiffs’ business,” the suit continues. “Having already fought to clear his name once, Mr. Young is now forced to sue another major media outlet.”
Young believes the AP acted with actual malice and is seeking “damages in excess of $50,000.00, exclusive of interest, costs and attorneys’ fees,” according to the filing.
Young will presumably amend the lawsuit to add punitive damages.
“In essence, AP’s defamatory statement dealt another blow to Plaintiffs’ reputation and trade, exacerbating the damage that CNN’s reporting had already inflicted,” Young’s lawyer wrote.
“AP is liable for defamation by implication because the publication, taken as a whole, would reasonably cause readers to draw a false and defamatory conclusion about Mr. Young. AP acted with actual malice in publishing this implication, or at least negligently, as detailed previously,” the suit continues. “AP knew the implication was false, i.e., Mr. Young was not a criminal smuggler, yet allowed it to be communicated to readers, demonstrating a reckless disregard for the truth.”
The Associated Press did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The Associated Press didn’t just repeat CNN’s lie — they escalated it. After a jury found CNN liable for defamation and punitive damages. AP doubled down and falsely branded Mr. Young a criminal,” Lustig, a partner at Pike & Lustig, told Fox News Digital.
Michael Pike, also a partner at Pike & Lustig, added: “AP knew the truth. They ignored it. Now they’ll face the same courtroom and the same plaintiff who already proved the media can be held accountable.”
Last month, Young filed a similar lawsuit against Puck News for alleged “republication of CNN’s defamatory lies.” The complaint against Puck was amended to add punitive damages on Thursday.
“Puck stands behind our reporting and we are confident the facts will hold up to any scrutiny,” a Puck spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Young is seeking the same venue for his lawsuit against Puck as he had with CNN: Bay County, Florida.
