Fox News Issues Apology for False Claims Made by Kevin O'Leary

Fox News issued an apology after Kevin O'Leary, a businessman and television personality, made false claims during a broadcast. The apology aired across multiple Fox News and Fox Business programs over four days, relating to O'Leary's May appearance where he discussed his plan to build a data center in Utah. He claimed that groups opposing his project were funded by the Chinese Communist Party. Host Johnny Joey Jones read the apology, noting that O'Leary has since corrected the record. O'Leary's initial proposal for the data center, announced in February, faced opposition from local residents and organizations, including the Alliance for a Better Utah. Following backlash, O'Leary acknowledged that his claims about the funding of opposition groups were untrue. In a statement, he admitted he had no evidence supporting his earlier assertions. Fox News Media also stated it was unaware of any evidence backing O'Leary's claims and apologized for the error. Media analyst Brian Stelter suggested that the apology may have been prompted by legal threats from those affected by O'Leary's statements. O'Leary continues to pursue his data center project, although he has reduced its scale from 40,000 acres to 20,000 acres.