Fox News issued a correction and apology after Kevin O'Leary alleged that critics of his planned Utah data center were being paid by China [1, 2].

The incident highlights the tension between private infrastructure development and public opposition, particularly when geopolitical accusations are used to discredit local critics.

O'Leary, a Canadian businessman and television personality, proposed the construction of an artificial intelligence data center in Utah [1, 2]. During the process, he encountered opposition from various critics. O'Leary said the resistance was not organic, alleging instead that the opposition was part of a public-relations campaign funded by China to block the project [1, 2].

He said that the foreign government was paying individuals to oppose the development in the U.S. [1, 2]. However, these assertions were made without supporting evidence [1].

Fox News later retracted the statements and apologized for the claims [2]. The network's correction followed the realization that the allegations regarding Chinese funding for the critics lacked verification [1, 2].

The project in Utah remains a point of contention as O'Leary seeks to establish the AI facility. While the businessman has faced pushback on the grounds of local impact, the attempt to link that pushback to foreign interference proved unfounded [1, 2].

“Critics of his planned Utah data center were being paid by China”

This retraction underscores the risks of attributing local civic opposition to foreign influence without empirical evidence. In the context of high-stakes AI infrastructure, the use of geopolitical narratives to silence critics can lead to significant legal and reputational liabilities for both the individuals making the claims and the media outlets broadcasting them.