Foreign Billionaires Fund PR War Against US Data Centers
An op-ed argues that the campaign against data centers and AI infrastructure in the US is a foreign-funded PR war, primarily by Chinese and European billionaires, aimed at hindering America's technological leadership. It highlights the introduction of a federal moratorium bill and local opposition tactics, linking them to a coordinated influence operation. The author asserts that this campaign echoes past efforts against fracking and is designed to create political division.
An op-ed by Bartlett Cleland, General Counsel and Director of Strategic Initiatives for NetChoice, claims that the growing opposition to data centers and AI infrastructure in the United States is a foreign-orchestrated public relations campaign. He draws parallels to past anti-fracking efforts, suggesting the current "war on data centers" aims to undermine America's leadership in the AI race, primarily benefiting China.
The article cites reports from the Bitcoin Policy Institute and the American Energy Institute, which document foreign funding from billionaires like Swiss Hansjörg Wyss and British Alan Parker, channeled through dark money groups such as the Sixteen Thirty Fund, to activist organizations like 350.org and the Sierra Club. These funds allegedly support a campaign for a federal moratorium on AI data centers, which culminated in Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introducing the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act within 107 days of a coalition letter calling for such action. Additionally, it highlights a CCP-aligned nonprofit network, funded by U.S. expatriate Neville Roy Singham, which collaborates with Chinese state media to push narratives against U.S. AI development and specific projects like Meta’s Hyperion and Cheyenne data centers.
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is quoted confirming the role of "foreign source dark money" in these campaigns, which he asserts exploit anxieties about electricity prices, even in areas without data centers. He recounts an instance in North Dakota where a data center actually lowered electricity rates for local residents. The op-ed also suggests a political motive, arguing that data center opposition is used by Democratic strategists to flip rural, predominantly Republican counties by leveraging local fears about energy and water, despite the economic benefits data centers often bring.