Fox News Apologizes Over Kevin O'Leary's Claims on China
Fox News and Fox Business issued an on-air apology for unsubstantiated claims made by Kevin O'Leary, who falsely linked opponents of his Stratos Project data center in Utah to the Chinese Communist Party. O'Leary also retracted his accusations, stating he has no evidence to support them. The controversy highlights the ongoing opposition to data center developments.
Fox News and Fox Business delivered a rare on-air apology across numerous shows for unsubstantiated claims made by 'Shark Tank' star Kevin O'Leary. O'Leary had linked opponents of his Utah data center project, known as the Stratos Project, to the Chinese Communist Party.
Host Johnny Joey Jones addressed the claims on "The Big Weekend Show," stating that O'Leary had corrected the record and admitted he had 'no evidence' that groups like Alliance for a Better Utah and Elevate Strategies, or individuals such as Josh Kantor and Taylor Knuth, were funded by China. Fox News Media also apologized for the error, confirming their awareness of no such evidence. This apology aired across four different Fox News and Fox Business shows.
O'Leary publicly walked back his claims on social media, reiterating that he had no evidence for his allegations, though he did not issue a direct apology. His original comments, made on "Mornings with Maria," speculated that an adversary like China would want to prevent the U.S. from building its electrical grid and compute capacity for AI development.