China Didn’t Cause Public Dislike for Data Centers

Right-wing officials and investors in data centers are increasingly asserting that protests against these facilities are being funded and influenced by the Chinese government. On Wednesday, OpenAI contributed to this discussion by releasing a report detailing a group of accounts originating from China that, according to the company, have been disseminating anti-data center sentiments on social media.

However, experts interviewed by WIRED are doubtful of the funding assertions. They suggest that any foreign involvement is likely amplifying pre-existing tensions surrounding data centers and AI in the United States.

Opposition to data centers within the US has surged recently. A poll published last week by climate outlet Heatmap indicated that over half of Americans favor a halt to data center development. Separate polling released in early June by UK-based policy research firm Public First revealed that support for data centers in the US was the lowest among 15 countries surveyed.

The narrative suggesting that Beijing is financing opposition to data centers has gained traction in Washington, DC, in recent weeks. On Wednesday, Senator Tom Cotton sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche requesting an investigation into foreign influence “spearheaded by the Chinese Communist Party” to manipulate public sentiment. He is not alone: Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee also sent a separate letter to the White House and the FBI last week expressing concerns about foreign campaigns aimed at data center development. Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum remarked to Fox Business last month that locations attempting to build data centers are “being bombarded” with foreign propaganda.

Data center developers have also rapidly adopted these narratives. Canadian investor Kevin O’Leary, who is overseeing a large and contentious data center project in Utah, utilized a graphic from a recent report by the Bitcoin Policy Institute, a cryptocurrency advocacy group, in a May video claiming that foreign influence was driving opposition to his initiative.

Graphika, a company specializing in social media analytics, has been monitoring opposition to data centers across various social platforms, including Facebook, Bluesky, and TikTok, for the past year.

Dina Sadek, an analyst at Graphika, states that the company has “not yet found evidence of organized or substantial influence operations or campaigns traceable to a foreign entity,” with two notable exceptions. One is a “cross-platform network of accounts” using AI-generated avatars that comment on diverse social issues and sporadically mention US tech firms. The other exception, according to Sadek, involves certain Facebook pages producing anti-data center visuals created with AI. These pages, she notes, often have administrators based in Bangladesh and may exist “for monetization purposes.”

“Our ongoing research indicates that domestic US actors are spearheading the online anti-data center dialogue,” Sadek asserts.

OpenAI’s report features ChatGPT-generated anti-data center visuals that the company claims were employed as part of a campaign “to amplify existing public concerns regarding energy prices and local impacts of data center development.” However, the company mentions that it “found no evidence of significant breakout” of the anti-data center messaging from the flagged accounts.

The Bitcoin Policy Institute report cited by O’Leary serves as a pivotal source for right-wing assertions regarding Chinese influence. This report, also referenced by House Republicans in their letter, claims a complex web of nonprofit funding connects well-known anti-data center activities with foreign backers, including the Chinese Communist Party.

Furthermore, the report states that Chinese state media is “openly campaigning against US AI data centers.” To support this, it cites stories and videos focusing on the anti-data center movement and increasing energy prices, topics that have been extensively covered by American and international media outlets.