Fox News and Fox Business have issued a rare series of on-air apologies after star investor Kevin OLeary advanced unsubstantiated claims tying critics of his Utah data center project to the Chinese Communist Party.
According to Mediaite, the networks correction came in the form of a roughly 45-second statement that has now aired across multiple programs on both channels. The controversy centers on OLearys Stratos Project, a proposed data center development in Utah that has drawn opposition from groups including Alliance for a Better Utah and Elevate Strategies, organizations he previously alleged were backed by Beijing-linked interests.
The formal on-air clarification was delivered by host Johnny Joey Jones at the close of his Saturday program, underscoring the seriousness with which Fox News Media treated the matter. Kevin OLeary appeared as a guest on the show on May 24 and discussed the ongoing controversy surrounding his planned data center project in Utah, Jones said. He made certain claims relating to the opponents of his project. Mr. OLeary has now corrected the record and explained he has no evidence that the Alliance for a Better Utah, Josh Kantor or Taylor Knuth are funded by China or the Chinese communist party. Fox News Media is likewise aware of no evidence that they are funded by, or acting in the direction of, or in coordination with Chinese interests in opposing Mr. OLearys project. Fox News Media also apologizes for the error.
The apology package has been broadcast on at least four shows over the past several days, including Fox News Saturday in America, hosted by Kayleigh McEnany, and Maria Bartiromos program on Fox Business. The repetition reflects both legal prudence and a broader media environment in which conservative outlets are held to exacting standards whenever China is implicated, even as Beijings influence campaigns remain a legitimate concern for many on the right.
OLeary, a prominent businessman who has often aligned with free-market priorities championed by conservatives, also moved to soften his earlier rhetoric. Recently I appeared on various news programs and would like to clarify that I have no evidence that Alliance for a Better Utah, Elevate Strategies, Gabrielle Finlayson, Taylor Knuth or Josh Kanter are funded by China or the Chinese Communist Party, OLeary wrote on social media, stopping short of an outright apology while still retracting the core allegation.
In his original remarks, OLeary had framed the fight over the Stratos Project as part of a broader geopolitical struggle over Americas energy and technological capacity. Who would want us to stop building our electrical grid? he asked on the May 11 broadcast. Who would want to stop us from having compute capacity to develop AI? Which adversary would want that? Theres only one. Its China. For many conservatives wary of Chinas ambitions yet equally wary of lawfare against right-leaning media, the episode highlights the fine line between sounding the alarm on foreign adversaries and ensuring that accusations are backed by hard evidence.
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