Navy veteran appeals defamation lawsuit against Associated Press over Afghanistan evacuation reporting

Zachary Young, a Navy veteran who successfully sued CNN for defamation earlier in 2025, is pursuing an appeal of his defamation lawsuit against the Associated Press after a Florida judge dismissed it in September 2024. The dispute stems from a January 2025 AP article by reporter David Bauder covering Young's CNN trial victory, which described Young's business as helping to "smuggle people out of Afghanistan." Young's legal team argues that the AP violated its own stylebook, which defines "human smuggling" as an illegal activity, and contends the word choice defamed him by implying illegal conduct. During Tuesday's appellate hearing before a three-judge panel in Florida's First District Court of Appeal, the AP's counsel argued that its stylebook does not apply to the reporting in question, while Young's attorney countered that the AP created the stylebook specifically to ensure consistent terminology among journalists. The original CNN case resulted in a jury finding that CNN defamed Young by implying he illegally profited during Afghanistan evacuations, awarding him $4 million in lost earnings and $1 million in personal damages, with additional punitive damages warranted before a settlement was reached.