Two Utah-based advocacy organizations and their founders filed a federal defamation lawsuit on Wednesday against celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary and Fox News Network, alleging a weekslong smear campaign that falsely labeled them as covert agents of the Chinese government.
The 70-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah by the Alliance for a Better Utah, Elevate Strategies, Joshua Kanter, and Gabrielle Finlayson, details accusations of defamation per se. The plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages for severe reputational harm, economic losses, and emotional distress.
According to the lawsuit, the dispute stems from O’Leary’s April 2026 announcement of a proposed 40,000-acre data center campus in Box Elder County, Utah. The project faced immediate scrutiny from local residents, environmental groups, and elected officials regarding its projected consumption of water and power.
The plaintiffs state that their involvement was limited to a few social media posts and a political strategy article questioning the project’s transparency and local impact. However, the complaint alleges that O’Leary responded by publicly accusing the groups of orchestrating a China-funded misinformation campaign to undermine American artificial intelligence development.
During a May 11, 2026, appearance on Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria, O’Leary claimed that his private team of data scientists discovered “two cells inside of Utah” operating as “proxies for the Chinese government,” explicitly naming the Alliance for a Better Utah, Elevate Strategies, Kanter, and Finlayson. “This is the CCP at work here. There’s no question about it,” O’Leary said during the broadcast.
The complaint alleges that O’Leary repeated variations of these claims across at least ten separate media appearances, including five broadcasts on Fox platforms over a three-week period. During several appearances, O’Leary brandished a chart from a purported investigative report that he claimed proved the connection via IRS Form 990 filings. The lawsuit states that the published report actually contained no references to China or foreign entities, and that the targeted groups publish their donor information transparently.
The lawsuit names Fox News Network as a defendant, asserting the network actively participated in the defamation by repeatedly hosting O’Leary and endorsing his claims without verification or contacting the plaintiffs for comment. The complaint notes that Fox continued to platform O’Leary even after his own business partner, O’Leary Digital CEO Paul Palandjian, publicly distanced the company from the accusations on May 21, stating they were not characterizing any local organizers as foreign agents.
According to the filing, both defendants later acknowledged the lack of evidence. On June 25, 2026, following a formal legal demand from the plaintiffs, O’Leary posted a clarification online stating he had “no evidence that the Alliance for a Better Utah, Elevate Strategies, Gabrielle Finlayson… or Josh Kanter are funded by China or the Chinese Communist Party.” Fox News subsequently reported on the clarification and issued an on-air apology.
Despite the retractions, the plaintiffs state the legal action remains necessary because the allegations caused severe professional consequences, blacklisting risks for the political consultants, drop-offs in charitable donations, and personal safety concerns. The complaint also notes that several unedited clips of the original broadcasts remain accessible on Fox-controlled and third-party digital platforms without notices of the retraction.
The plaintiffs are represented by Platkin LLP alongside Utah-based corporate counsel David R. Irvine and Alan L. Smith. A jury trial has been demanded.
In a statement to the Tampa Free Press, Fox News said, “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. We will vigorously defend against this lawsuit.”
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