Congress Chases a Debunked Scare

September 26, 2026

United States Capitol building under a blue sky — Photo: W. Scott McGill / Shutterstock

A billionaire investor accused Utah residents fighting a massive data center of being secret agents for the Chinese Communist Party — then admitted weeks later he had no evidence at all.

Story Snapshot

Kevin O’Leary claimed Utah data-center opponents were tied to China, then walked back the accusation entirely.
Fox News apologized for airing the unproven claim without evidence.
Utah groups sued O’Leary and Fox News for defamation over the accusation.
Republican lawmakers asked the FBI for a briefing on foreign influence in data-center opposition.
Polling shows most Utahns oppose data centers over water and power use, not foreign plots.

An On-Air Accusation Falls Apart

Kevin O’Leary, the “Shark Tank” investor backing a $100 billion data center project in Box Elder County, Utah, told Fox News in May that “nefarious accounts out of the country” linked to China were fueling opposition to his project. He named specific groups, including Alliance for a Better Utah and Elevate Strategies, as possible foreign proxies. By late June, O’Leary reversed course completely, posting online that he had “no evidence” the named groups or people were funded by China or the Chinese Communist Party.

Fox News followed with its own apology. The network said it was “likewise aware of no evidence” that the accused Utah organizations were funded by or coordinating with Chinese interests when it aired O’Leary’s original claims. The quick reversal, from confident accusation to full retraction in about six weeks, raised questions about how such claims reach national television before anyone checks the facts.

Congress Wants Answers From the FBI

Even as O’Leary backed away from his claim, Republican lawmakers in Congress pushed forward. In June, they asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology for a briefing on foreign influence campaigns and “billionaire-backed activism” targeting American artificial intelligence infrastructure. A separate report from the American Energy Institute claimed twelve groups opposing data centers had received more than $39 million from foreign donors in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Denmark. Independent reporters have said evidence for a coordinated Chinese campaign remains thin.

This is where the story connects to a wider frustration shared across the political spectrum. Voters on the left and right increasingly distrust powerful figures, whether in government or media, who make sweeping accusations without proof. When a sitting congressional inquiry follows a debunked media claim, it fuels concern that policy decisions are shaped by unverified narratives rather than facts on the ground.

Lawsuits Now Test the Claims in Court

Alliance for a Better Utah, its founder Joshua Kanter, Elevate Strategies, and co-founder Gabi Finlayson sued O’Leary and Fox News in federal court, arguing the China accusation was made “without evidence whatsoever” and amounted to defamation. Their complaint argues the false statements damaged their professional reputations and implied criminal conduct, which can qualify as defamation per se under the law. The case will likely hinge on whether the plaintiffs can show O’Leary made the claim knowing it was false or with reckless disregard for the truth, a high legal bar for public figures.

The lawsuit puts a spotlight on how quickly unverified claims about foreign interference can spread through cable news and social media before facing any real scrutiny. Whatever the court decides, the case already shows the gap between accusation and proof that has defined this entire episode.

What’s Actually Driving the Opposition

Polling suggests the real story in Utah has little to do with China. About 60% of Utah voters oppose large data centers because of water use, electricity demand, and infrastructure costs, according to survey data. The proposed Stratos Project would use enough energy to more than double what the entire state currently consumes, while critics worry it could further drain the shrinking Great Salt Lake. Those are concrete, local concerns that predate any foreign-influence theory and don’t require a foreign conspiracy to explain.

The episode leaves a mixed picture. Congress has a legitimate interest in understanding foreign influence campaigns tied to critical infrastructure. But the collapse of O’Leary’s specific claims, paired with Fox News’s apology and an ongoing defamation lawsuit, shows how easily unproven accusations can overshadow the real, homegrown reasons Americans are pushing back on data centers built in their backyards.