Kevin O’Leary appears to have set Fox off by claiming critics of his Utah AI data center project were tied to China or the Chinese Communist Party. Fox later ran on-air apologies and corrections, saying there was no evidence for that claim.

What he said

O’Leary had suggested on Fox programs that the opposition to his project was being driven by foreign interference, specifically China. He later walked that back in an X post, saying he had no evidence that named opponents were funded by China or the Chinese Communist Party.

Why Fox reacted

The network’s apology centered on the fact that O’Leary’s accusation was repeated across multiple Fox shows, then later corrected. That combination of a serious allegation and a public retraction is what made the situation blow up.

The broader context

The dispute is tied to O’Leary’s proposed Stratos Project data center in Utah, which had already drawn local backlash and protests. So when he linked the critics to China, it turned a local land-and-development fight into a much bigger media controversy.

In one line

He basically accused the project’s opponents of being backed by China, then Fox had to clean it up after saying there was no proof.

TL;DR: Kevin O’Leary said opponents of his Utah data center were linked to China, and Fox News later apologized and corrected the claim after saying there was no evidence.