No Evidence: A China Claim Went Viral

The Supreme Court building featuring marble columns and a clear blue sky

When Fox News has to go on live television and admit it pushed a serious claim about China with zero evidence, it shows just how broken our media and political system have become.

Story Snapshot

Fox News and Fox Business issued a rare on-air apology across four shows for Kevin O’Leary’s unsupported claim that Utah data center opponents were funded by China.^[1]
O’Leary has now said publicly he has “no evidence” that any of the named local groups or individuals are backed by the Chinese government or the Chinese Communist Party.^[1]
Local opponents say they are fighting the project over water, energy, and community impacts, and some are weighing defamation lawsuits.^[5]
The episode shows how “blame China” talking points can be used to smear ordinary Americans, then quietly walked back only after public backlash.^[1]

Fox’s On-Air Apology: What Happened and Why It Matters

Fox News and Fox Business did something they almost never do: they apologized on air, across multiple shows, for a claim that should never have made it to broadcast.^[1] Hosts read a statement saying Kevin O’Leary, the investor behind a huge proposed data center in Utah, had “no evidence” that Alliance for a Better Utah, Elevate Strategies, Josh Kanter, Taylor Knuth, or Gabrielle Finlayson were funded by China or the Chinese Communist Party.^[1]^[3] Fox added it was also aware of no evidence that these opponents act at the direction of Chinese interests.^[1] In plain terms, the network admitted it helped spread a serious charge about foreign influence with nothing to back it up.

For viewers on both the right and the left, this cuts to a deeper concern: big media outlets seem quick to chase ratings with dramatic claims, but slow to check if those claims are true.^[1] Conservatives who worry about real Chinese interference see their concerns turned into sloppy talking points instead of careful reporting.^[15] Liberals who fear smear campaigns against activists see a powerful business figure use “China” as a weapon against local citizens, then escape with only a brief correction. Both sides watch a major network admit, only after pressure, that it aired speculation as fact. That looks less like honest journalism and more like a system that protects elites first and the public last.

O’Leary’s Walk-Back and the Local Fight in Utah

Kevin O’Leary’s original comments were blunt: he said opponents of his forty-thousand-acre Stratos data center campus in Box Elder County were funded by China.^[5] He named specific groups and people, turning a local land and water fight into a story about foreign enemies. Later, after backlash and talk of defamation suits, he posted on social media that he has “no evidence” any of these groups are funded by China or the Chinese Communist Party.^[1]^[6] That is not a full apology, but it is an admission that his earlier claim was baseless. Local reporting shows many residents worry about water use, energy demand, noise, and how massive artificial intelligence facilities will reshape their communities.^[6]^[14] They describe a classic struggle: global tech money and national security rhetoric on one side, local quality of life and costs on the other.

Opponents say they are not foreign agents but neighbors trying to protect their land and way of life.^[6] Some are now considering defamation lawsuits, arguing that being falsely tied to a hostile foreign power could hurt reputations and careers.^[9] That threat of legal action appears to have forced a correction both from O’Leary and from Fox.^[1]^[9] This is the system many Americans see over and over: powerful figures throw out harsh accusations, smaller players must spend time and money to clear their names, and only then do media companies admit the story did not hold up. Whether you lean conservative or liberal, it is hard to miss the imbalance. Ordinary citizens have to fight to get basic fairness, while big media and big money move on to the next segment.

“Blame China” Politics and a Broken Information System

This story does not happen in a vacuum. United States–China tensions are the highest they have been in decades, and Beijing is running real influence and disinformation campaigns in American politics.^[15]^[18] That threat is serious and deserves honest coverage. But experts also note that many politicians and media figures in both parties use China as a convenient villain for almost every problem.^[24] In that climate, it becomes easy for a television guest to say that opponents of his project must be backed by China, even when he has no proof. Viewers hear “China” and think national security, traitors, and hidden money. The person making the claim gains attention and political leverage, while the accused are left to prove a negative. It is exactly the kind of scapegoating that deepens divides and feeds mistrust of both media and government.

For conservatives who believe in America First, this episode is infuriating because it cheapens real national security worries. If China is truly trying to outpace the United States in artificial intelligence and data, that deserves careful, fact-based debate, not wild accusations against local activists.^[7]^[8]^[15] For liberals who worry about civil rights and corporate power, it confirms a fear that big business and friendly networks can paint community groups as enemies of the state to shut them up. In both cases, the pattern is clear: powerful voices toss around “foreign agent” labels without evidence, and the system only corrects itself when bad press or lawsuits force its hand. That is not the kind of careful, accountable government and media that Americans on either side of the aisle say they want.