Some Claim Foreign 'Dark Money' Is Funding Anti-Data Center Sentiment Across U.S.

Betsey Hale, CEO of Cheyenne LEADS, and U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyoming) have expressed concern about potential foreign "dark money" influencing anti-data center campaigns in the U.S., including in Wyoming. A study by the American Energy Institute, which has not been independently verified, claims to have traced $39 million in foreign funding to advocacy groups opposing AI infrastructure. This comes as a petition for a moratorium on new data centers circulates in Laramie County, and a full-page "NO MORE DATA CENTERS" ad, purportedly from a non-existent group, appeared in a local newspaper. Proponents of the foreign influence theory, including Hale and former state GOP Chairman Matt Micheli, suggest foreign adversaries like Russia and China are exploiting legitimate local concerns regarding power and water use, housing, and infrastructure to sow division and hinder U.S. progress in the AI race. They draw parallels to past foreign interference tactics, such as manipulating social media groups. However, Wyoming Sen. Cale Case and local petitioner Heather Madrid dismiss the foreign influence theory, asserting that local opposition stems from genuine, unmanipulated concerns about transparency, resource consumption, and community impacts. Madrid emphasizes that residents are not easily swayed by propaganda and deserve to have their local issues addressed without accusations of foreign collaboration.