CNN defamation trial: Jake Tapper testifies he doesn’t ‘pay attention to ratings’, online posts say otherwise
PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – CNN anchor Jake Tapper made the bold claim under oath during his network a high-profile libel trial it seems to be undermined by his own social media activity.
Tapper made his statement in a pre-recorded video that was played to jurors Tuesday in the trial of U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, who accused CNN of defaming him in a report that first aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper” in November 2021.
“Mr. Tapper, can you provide an overview of the viewership of your show ‘The Lead?'” Young’s attorney is heard asking off-camera in a taped November 2024 exchange.
“I can’t,” Tapper replied.
“You have no idea how many people watch ‘The Lead’ on average?” he was followed by a lawyer.
“I don’t pay attention to grades,” Tapper replied.
CNN’s Jake Tapper testified under oath in a deposition shown to jurors in the network’s defamation trial that he doesn’t “pay attention to ratings.” (Fox News Digital/Law and Crime)
After attorney Vel Freedman asked Tapper to define what he meant by “ratings,” Tapper responded by explaining that Nielsen’s ratings metrics are how shows, networks and advertisers “determine how many people are watching a show at any given time.”
“And I don’t pay attention to the Nielsen ratings. So, yeah,” Tapper added.
Fox News Digital found more than a dozen examples of social media posts showing Tapper praising his show’s ratings or singling out others, directly contradicting and undermining his own sworn testimony.
“Ratings are up and ratings are down, but UNITED STATES OF SCANDAL had the highest ratings in the key cable news demo on Sunday … and was the most-watched show on CNN! Thank you so much for watching!” Tapper wrote on X about his CNN special in March 2024, about eight months before he said under oath that he didn’t care about ratings. He also praised his grades a month before.
In fact, Tapper used the same phrase “grades go up and down” multiple times. August 2018, April 2021 and February 2024.
IN January 2015Tapper shared a Washington Examiner article titled “CNN’s Tapper on streak of ratings wins, viewers jump 75%”
“Thank you so much for watching #TheLead folks! My team and I are hard at work and I’m humbled that you’re watching,” Tapper wrote in reaction to the article.
CNN DEFAMATION TRIAL: PROSECUTOR ACCUSES NETWORK OF FAKEING CRITICAL ‘THEATER’ PHONE CALL
Fox News Digital found more than a dozen social media posts belonging to Jake Tapper referencing grades after he testified to a Florida grand jury that he doesn’t “pay attention to grades.” (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery)
He didn’t just monitor the viewership of his own show. He focused attention on the viewership of a wide range of programs from CNBC GOP Primary Debate in 2015, a speech given by then-President Trump in 2017 even “shark 2.”
IN January 2017Tapper blasted Trump on air for denying his “The Apprentice”‘s decline in ratings.
“‘The Apprentice’ had spectacular ratings for the first few seasons, but then the ratings started to drop,” Tapper told viewers at the time. “And a former publicist for the show said that Trump was never willing to acknowledge the change. He even tried to influence those who publish the ratings!”
Tapper shares a link to his account of Xwriting “What ‘The Apprentice’ and the ratings can teach us about Trump.”
Neither Tapper nor CNN responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
CNN has expressed confidence in previous statements that it will emerge victorious in the defamation trial when all the facts emerge.
U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN over a November 2021 report about him. (Jessica Costescu)
In his lawsuit, Young accused CNN of suggesting it illegally profited from desperate people trying to flee Afghanistan after Biden administration military retirement, implying that he was involved in “black market” dealings and as a result destroying his professional reputation.
Tapper first teased the report in 2021, telling CNN viewers of “desperate Afghans still trying to flee a country being pillaged by people who are asking them to pay huge costs to get out.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
After the segment began, Tapper said Marquardt revealed that “Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands for exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success.”
The trial resumed on Wednesday and was broadcast live Fox News Digital.
