China · Wired · Facebook · Wired
Separate polling rolled out in early June from UK-based policy research agency Public First finds that support for data centers
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The meme that Beijing is funding data center opposition has picked up steam in Washington, DC, in recent weeks.
Key facts
- Separate polling released in early June from UK-based policy research agency Public First shows that support for data centers in the US was the lowest of 15 countries surveyed
- Meanwhile, interior secretary Doug Burgum told Fox Business last month that places trying to build data centers are “getting bombarded” with foreign propaganda
- The Bitcoin Policy Institute report O’Leary cited is one of the key sources of right-wing claims about Chinese influence
- Experts who spoke to WIRED, however, are skeptical of the funding claims
Summary
Right-wing officials and data center investors are increasingly claiming that data center protests are being funded and influenced by the Chinese government. Experts who spoke to WIRED, however, are skeptical of the funding claims. Local opposition to data centers in the US has skyrocketed in recent months. Graphika, a social media analytics company, has been tracking data center opposition across several social platforms, including Facebook, Bluesky, and TikTok for the past year.