Foreign influences blamed for data center backlash
Claims are emerging that foreign influence campaigns are fueling the growing backlash against data center construction in the U.S., particularly for AI infrastructure projects. These claims, echoed by figures like Kevin O'Leary and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, are largely disputed by tech insiders and community organizers who attribute opposition to genuine local concerns over impacts like energy costs and pollution. Examples of opposition include a protest in Salt Lake City, Utah, and lawsuits against projects in Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Reports from prominent figures like billionaire Kevin O'Leary and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum suggest that foreign influence campaigns, allegedly linked to the Chinese Communist Party, are driving the escalating nationwide opposition to AI data center construction. O'Leary specifically blamed "nefarious accounts out of the country" for fueling protests against his proposed 40,000-acre data center in Utah, a claim echoed by Burgum who stated that data center projects are being "bombarded with foreign-directed propaganda" as an attack on U.S. competitiveness.
However, these allegations face strong criticism from both tech industry allies and some Trump administration supporters, who argue that such claims are a form of "gaslighting" that ignores legitimate local concerns. Kyle Schmidt, a three-time Trump voter who organized opposition to a Google data center near Tulsa, Oklahoma, emphasized that his community is self-funding a lawsuit against the project, primarily through small local donations. Similarly, Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson, who led opposition to xAI data centers outside Memphis due to local pollution from natural gas burning, urged tech leaders to engage with communities rather than discredit American voters.
Several conservative think tanks, including the American Energy Institute and the Bitcoin Policy Institute, have published reports alleging a coordinated, foreign-financed campaign against U.S. data center expansion. These reports typically point to grants received by U.S. environmental groups from overseas donors. Yet, direct evidence of these funds driving a widespread foreign conspiracy is largely absent, and the amounts linked to data center advocacy are often a small fraction of the groups' overall funding.
Experts and activists, including Tamara Kneese of the Partnership on AI, find it highly improbable that foreign activity could drive such widespread grassroots opposition, especially given the direct local impacts experienced by communities. Many in the tech industry express discouragement, viewing the focus on foreign conspiracies as an evasion of honest engagement with communities grappling with the tangible effects of rapid data center development.