OpenAI report adds to claims of China-linked anti data center posts

In short: Claims that China is driving US opposition to data centers are spreading, but several researchers say there is limited evidence so far.

What's going on

Opposition to new data centers in the US has grown quickly in recent months. Data centers are large buildings filled with computers that power online services and many AI tools, a bit like warehouses for the internet. Polls cited by WIRED show more than half of Americans support a pause on new data center construction, and support in the US was the lowest among 15 countries surveyed.

At the same time, some Republican officials and data center backers have argued that China is funding or pushing these protests. Senator Tom Cotton asked the Justice Department to investigate what he called Chinese Communist Party influence. House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee sent a similar letter to the White House and the FBI, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said areas planning data centers are being hit with foreign propaganda.

OpenAI added to the debate by releasing a report describing a cluster of accounts that it said originated in China and posted anti data center messages, including images made with ChatGPT. OpenAI said it found no evidence that this messaging spread widely beyond those accounts.

Graphika, a company that tracks social media activity, said it has not seen evidence of a large, organized foreign campaign behind anti data center discussions online, with a couple of limited exceptions. One involved accounts using AI generated profile pictures, and another involved Facebook pages with administrators often based in Bangladesh that may exist mainly to make money.

What to watch

Experts told WIRED that foreign actors can sometimes amplify real US disagreements, like pouring fuel on an existing fire. The key question now is whether investigators find clear links to foreign funding or coordination, or whether the debate remains mostly driven by local concerns about energy use, water use, and nearby construction.

Source: Wired