Key facts
- Two Utah nonprofits, Alliance for a Better Utah and Elevate Strategies, and their founders are suing Fox News and Kevin O'Leary for defamation.
- The lawsuit alleges O'Leary falsely accused the plaintiffs of being proxies for the Chinese government on Fox News.
- These claims were made in May in response to opposition to O'Leary's proposed 40,000-acre data center in Utah.
- The plaintiffs state O'Leary repeated these allegations at least 10 times, claiming he had proof from an investigation.
- Fox News allegedly continued to feature O'Leary and affirm his claims even after the plaintiffs denied them.
- O'Leary has since retracted his statements and Fox News has apologized, but the plaintiffs claim damages have already been sustained.
Two Utah nonprofits and their founders have filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News and investor Kevin O’Leary. The suit alleges that O’Leary repeatedly claimed on Fox News that the plaintiffs were acting as proxies for the Chinese Communist Party in their opposition to his proposed 40,000-acre data center in Utah.
According to the complaint, O’Leary made these accusations during at least 10 separate appearances on the network, asserting he had evidence from an investigation. The plaintiffs, Joshua Kanter of Alliance for a Better Utah and Gabrielle Finlayson of Elevate Strategies, claim that Fox News continued to host O’Leary and endorse his statements even after they publicly denied them.
While O’Leary has since retracted his statements and Fox News has issued an apology, the plaintiffs argue that significant reputational, financial, and emotional damage has already been inflicted. Fox News Media stated it will "vigorously defend against this lawsuit" and noted its previous public corrections.
The lawsuit emerges as data center projects nationwide face increasing opposition from local residents concerning environmental impacts, energy consumption, and water usage. O’Leary’s project, the Stratos Project, is also facing a separate lawsuit in Utah state court regarding its approval process.