Paid social media campaign seeks support for Port Washington data center
A Wisconsin political consultant allegedly sought people to post undisclosed, paid social media content supporting the $15 billion OpenAI, Oracle and Vantage data center under construction in Port Washington. Vantage said any creator partnerships would comply with advertising rules, while a proposed Wisconsin bill targeting nondisclosure agreements between data center developers and government agencies did not become law.
A campaign led by former Republican legislative aide Scott A. Becher allegedly recruited people to promote the OpenAI-, Oracle- and Vantage-backed Project Lighthouse data center in Port Washington. Software analyst Charles Rathmann said Becher offered paid social media work and required a nondisclosure agreement, but did not clearly explain the expected work or compensation. Rathmann declined, in part because the posts would not be labeled as paid content.
Vantage declined an interview but said its advertising partnerships are disclosed and creators retain editorial control. The story also notes that Microsoft and Meta have other hyperscale projects under construction in Wisconsin, but both companies denied having similar paid-poster efforts. A bill introduced by Rep. Clint Moses to prohibit nondisclosure agreements between data center developers and local governments failed to become law; Moses said he plans to reintroduce an expanded version covering the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.