Fox News and businessman Kevin O’Leary are facing a defamation lawsuit after allegedly pushing a baseless narrative that critics of a Utah data center project were secretly backed by China.
The lawsuit, filed by Alliance for a Better Utah, Elevate Strategies, Gabrielle Finlayson, Taylor Knuth, and Josh Kanter, accuses O’Leary of using Fox News as a megaphone to attack opponents of his project with claims the group says had no evidence behind them.
According to the complaint, O’Leary appeared on Fox programs five times in just three weeks, repeatedly suggesting that the groups opposing his data center plans were connected to Chinese interests.
The plaintiffs say Fox helped amplify the accusations by giving O’Leary a platform and allowing him to make what they describe as false and damaging claims to millions of viewers.
“Fox was instrumental in O’Leary’s defamatory smear campaign,” the lawsuit states, arguing that the network repeatedly aired O’Leary’s allegations despite what it called his lack of evidence to support them.
The fight centers around O’Leary’s push for data center construction and his warnings about China’s influence over America’s energy infrastructure.
During a May appearance on Fox’s *Mornings with Maria*, O’Leary called China an “adversary” and claimed the country wanted the United States to stop building out its electrical grid.
From there, O’Leary turned his criticism toward the groups challenging his project, implying they were acting in line with Chinese interests.
The problem: He later admitted he had no evidence to back up those accusations.
Last month, Fox News publicly walked back the remarks, saying it had found no evidence that the groups were funded by China, directed by Chinese interests, or coordinating with Chinese entities.
“Fox News Media publicly corrected the record on every program where on-air guest Kevin O’Leary’s comments were made,” the network said, adding that it would “vigorously defend” itself against the lawsuit.
O’Leary also attempted to clarify his comments but did not issue a direct apology.
In a social media post, he said he wanted to make clear that he had “no evidence” that Alliance for a Better Utah, Elevate Strategies, Gabrielle Finlayson, Taylor Knuth, or Josh Kanter were funded by China or the Chinese Communist Party.
Now, the lawsuit will determine whether those accusations were simply heated political rhetoric—or whether Fox News and O’Leary crossed the line by spreading claims that allegedly damaged the reputations of the groups fighting the data center project.
