Kevin O’Leary is a Clown
Disclaimer
I think Kevin O’Leary is a rude, narcissistic self-promoter of the worst kind who acts with impunity because of his wealth. Basically, he’s an asshole.
I would levy the same criticism against anyone who acts as he does, regardless of their politics
I’m focused on the need for facts - which have no political party - to continue to matter
What Happened?
Kevin O'Leary, with a reported net worth of $400M & a massive megaphone due to his constant self-promotion, went on FoxNews & claimed that two Chinese "cells" operating in Utah were responsible for the strong opposition to data centers being built there. Shocking, right?! If true, this would be big news! But, rest assured, it’s not true.
To begin this journey, O’Leary - a man with degrees in psychology & business but zero national security credentials - declared on FoxNews that anyone opposed to data centers must be aligned with China because that was (to him) the only logical conclusion. O’Leary had nothing to support this statement, but his biased & unsubstantiated opinion was the basis for all that follows.
With that bias as the guide, O’Leary - who has sufficient resources to hire literally any private sector intelligence experts he wants - stated that he had his “guys” dig into the IP addresses of two organizations in Utah & (according to O’Leary) “discover” two “cells” inside Utah
O’Leary’s went on national TV to slander people by name because neither FoxNews nor O'Leary are afraid of the legal consequences of slander
FoxNews has repeatedly paid fines for lying & even admitted their fault in court
The wealthy don’t fear legal consequences; they just outlast or pay off anyone as-needed
Did These “Chinese Cells” Respond?
Not surprisingly, there is no truth to the accusation that the strong opposition to data centers being built in Utah is tied to “Chinese cells.” The Alliance for a Better Utah denied the claims & used the publicity to do some fundraising on Facebook. But, the more impressive response came from Gabi Finlayson & Jackie Morgan of Elevate Strategies, the other so-called “Chinese cell” that O’Leary’s crack team discovered. They responded with a video that should embarrass O’Leary…if he had any shame. As Gabi & Jackie don’t need me to speak for them, the video is attached below.
Why Should Anyone Care?
While the topic of data centers is important, I don’t consider it to be the most important point of this minor controversy. The bigger issue is the growing trend towards believing the loudest & most convincing voices - which are often the wealthy & powerful or the overly confident AI platforms they are pushing - without fact-checking. Worse yet, an increasing portion of our population willingly believes easily disproved lies simply because they want to. Such tribalism is a threat to everyone who is not wealthy or powerful.
Some may think they are safe because they are on the “right” team, but it’s worth noting that at no time in history has unfettered wealth & power been beneficial to the little people who supported the rising titans.
When multi-millionaires, billionaires, & media outlets can conspire to normalize false narratives without any fear of consequences - & those narratives are believed by millions of people who don’t fact-check or choose to believe what they want despite contradictory evidence - everyone’s safety & success will be determined by their fealty to power instead of their earned credentials (e.g., education & experience).
In that world, adherence to facts, logic, & reason will no longer be considered a virtue…it will be an existential threat to the wealthy & powerful that will need to be silenced by any means necessary.