CNN host Jake Tapper has recently come under fire following the defamation lawsuit against the network by Navy Veteran Zachary Young following the negative coverage of his business in the wake of the disastrous 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. Reports indicate the network could face over $1 billion in legal liability where commenters have suggested Tapper should also face punitive damages for his role in the matter.
Amid the discussions about the case online, legal expert Jonathan Turley weighed in, writing on X, “Navy veteran Zachary Young continues to rack up wins in the pre-trial motions of his defamation case against CNN. The court not only found that Young was not a “public figure” but found that he could secure punitive damages against the network.”
Calling for Tapper to be held accountable for his reporting on Young, another person commented, “Punitive damages is when it gets real. It brought down Johns Manville in asbestos litigation. Looks like under certain circumstances, there is no cap in FLA. Well written jury instructions, such as “award sufficient to prevent the wrongdoing from occurring again”, can decimate.”
Offering another legal opinion, another person commented, “A “full and fair correction, apology or retraction” of statements made on the internet should entail that the offending company place a banner ad at the top of every one of their webpages for a period of 30 days that details the retraction. Yet, e.g., Florida Statute 770.02 does not even mention the internet!”
Giving an overview of the developments in the case against Tapper and CNN, another commenter pointed out, “Recent court rulings have indicated evidence of malice, suggesting CNN’s internal communications reveal a troubling eagerness to vilify Young without sufficient evidence. The unfolding drama impacts the parties involved and sets essential precedents for journalistic standards in an era of heightened scrutiny. Their write-off by the parent Company is a good indicator.”
“A company has a moral obligation to not smear someone’s good name. They should be held accountable for what they’ve allowed to happen on air. How many times will they have to be sued for hundreds of millions of dollars before they get it?” another person posted, echoing the sentiment seen throughout the comments section that CNN should be held accountable.
Suggesting the case could lead to sweeping changes in the mainstream media, one person commented, “After reading, all I can say is this man seems to have the power to make real change in this world. Taking this to trial, making Tapper, Marquardt, and Philips sit through depositions, then making them testify in open court, could change the entire way the media works. I hope he chooses not to settle, but I also realize this is easy for me to say because I don’t have a large check being offered to me.”
Watch Jake Tapper react live on-air to Vice President Kamala Harris’s underperformance against Donald Trump in the 2024 election compared to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election:
Featured image credit: nrkbeta, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jake_Tapper_(CNN)_@_SXSW_2017_(33419983525).jpg
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