Fox News and Kevin O’Leary Are Sued Over Claim That Nonprofits Worked for Chinese Communist Party

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary and Fox News were sued Wednesday by two Utah nonprofit leaders who allege they were falsely portrayed on air as agents of the Chinese Communist Party during a dispute over the businessman’s massive proposed data center project.

The lawsuit was filed by Alliance for a Better Utah founder Joshua Kanter and Elevate Strategies founder Gabrielle Finlayson, who contend O’Leary repeatedly accused them of working on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party while discussing opposition to his plan to build a 40,000-acre data center in Utah.

According to Politico’s reporting, O’Leary made similar allegations across at least 10 Fox News appearances, telling viewers the pair were “proxies for the Chinese government.” The complaint alleges O’Leary claimed his accusations were backed by evidence from an investigation conducted by data scientists.

The plaintiffs argue the claims were false and defamatory, alleging Fox News continued booking O’Leary while network hosts affirmed or echoed the allegations even after both Kanter and Finlayson publicly denied them.

Although O’Leary later withdrew his accusations after receiving legal threats and Fox News issued an apology, the lawsuit contends the retraction came only after the alleged damage had already been done. According to the complaint, the plaintiffs suffered reputational, financial, and emotional harm as a result of the broadcasts.

The dispute initially arose after Kanter and Finlayson’s opposed the proposed data center, a project that has drawn additional criticism from other local groups over its potential impact and development plans. The lawsuit argues that, rather than responding to those concerns on the merits, O’Leary launched a public campaign falsely tying the nonprofit leaders to the Chinese government.

Politico reported that O’Leary did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“FOX News Media publicly corrected the record on every program where on-air guest Kevin O’Leary’s comments were made, all of which was extensively publicized,” Fox News said in a statement to Mediaite. “We will vigorously defend against this lawsuit.”

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