AI generated image of a data center. (Photo: Grok)
Chinese Propaganda, Foreign Influence Campaign Against U.S. AI Data Centers
California already has 331 data centers, with 54 more planned
By Katy Grimes, September 2, 2026 10:36 am
Data centers are the gigantic physical facilities that house the servers, storage, networking, and cooling systems that store, process, and move digital information. They support cloud computing, streaming, e-commerce, banking, AI, remote work, and most internet services.
Data centers make online shopping possible, they make gaming and streaming possible, they keep our apps working, they make remote work possible, and they power Google.
With Amazon building so many massive distribution centers across the country, it’s hard to tell if these gargantuan structures belong to Amazon, or if they are data centers – many of which have been in our communities for years.
The recent race to build more facilities is being driven in large part by Artificial Intelligence, but mainstream media and social media are fomenting distrust. And they have help.
China must be delighted with Americans’ opposition to data centers; it means their disinformation campaign is working.
OpenAI reported in June 2026 that it banned clusters of ChatGPT accounts likely originating in China (a private company working for provincial government clients), Politico reported.
Chinese state outlets CGTN, China Daily, Global Times, published English-language pieces and videos citing US electricity-price spikes and energy demand from data centers, sometimes using satellite imagery of specific U.S. sites. An Alethea analysis recorded hundreds of such mentions from Chinese, Russian, and Iranian state media in the first half of 2026, treating the issue as a “domestic fracture point.” Think-tank reports additionally link Neville Roy Singham’s Shanghai-based nonprofit network and the Party for Socialism and Liberation to on-the-ground organizing that contributed to moratoria or blocked projects totaling billions of dollars. These claims have prompted congressional letters requesting FBI investigation, Fox News reported.
In mid-August, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) urged leading AI CEOs to pause AI development, warning that lawmakers will step in if no action is taken, Axios reported.
A report, “Foreign Influence in the Campaign against American AI,” by the Bitcoin Policy Institute think tank, alleges that there are “three vectors of foreign influence converging on the push to block U.S. AI data center construction.”
“Report documents CCP state media, a congressional-investigated nonprofit network, and foreign-billionaire dark money converging on the push to halt American AI data center construction, tracing a trail from Beijing’s state media apparatus through a CCP-aligned nonprofit network to foreign-billionaire dark money tied to the push for a federal moratorium on AI data centers.”
Fox reported on March 25, amid campaigns by Singham organizations against U.S. technology firms, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the “AI Data Center Moratorium Act.” Weeks later, on April 29, Sanders hosted a Capitol Hill event titled “The Existential Threat of AI.”
According to the Bitcoin Policy Institute report, at that event, “Two of the four panelists were Chinese government affiliates and veteran PRC media voices, including Xue Lan, a Counsellor of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, who called the U.S.-China AI race “an inaccurate narrative.” The event was held one month after Sanders introduced the moratorium legislation.”
According to the report, the two Chinese government panelists at that the Bernie Sanders event were Zeng Yi, founding dean of the Beijing Institute of AI Safety and Governance, and Xue Lan, a counselor of China’s State Council and chair of China’s National AI Governance Committee.
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) says America needs to win the AI race, but has concerns about China’s interference.
On Aug. 27, McCormick shared a pair of reports on social media detailing an investigation led by Republicans into anti-data-center non-profits over their ties to China, Just the News reported.
“China knows the AI race will shape the future,” McCormick said. “Now we’re learning Chinese money may be funding groups working to stop the data centers America needs to compete and meet our growing demand for AI.”
“We cannot let the CCP sabotage American AI dominance from inside our own borders,” he added.
McCormick argued that China is trying to “manipulate America’s debate over AI and energy” because they want to see the United States lose.
California already has 331 data centers, with 54 more planned. California places 3rd among U.S. states by number of data centers, behind Virginia and Texas, according to Pew Research. Virginia has 685 data centers, and Texas has 466.
In Sacramento County where I live, there are 6 data centers, two of which have been in operation since year 2000.
Silicon Valley, home to many of the world’s leading high-tech companies, includes Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Santa Clara, San Jose, Redwood City and Cupertino, has as many as 140 data center facilities.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., announced his backing for President Donald Trump’s support of the AI industry and data centers.
Agreed.
We must win the war for AI supremacy over China. They foment the ‘anti’ argument through misinformation.
There’s nothing more damaging to a Democrat than agreeing with Trump AND data centers—but what’s right is right. pic.twitter.com/rRzdz0G3qf
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) August 31, 2026
“We must win the war for AI supremacy over China. They foment the ‘anti’ argument through misinformation,” Fetterman posted on X. “There’s nothing more damaging to a Democrat than agreeing with Trump AND data centers—but what’s right is right.”
Fetterman also said China loves to hear Sen. Sanders calling for a pause in AI development. “America must lead in the development of AI, otherwise we live under China’s rules,” Fetterman said on X. “That must not happen.”
As for claims that data centers use too much water and power, and are not environmentally friendly, many newer data centers built for AI and high-density computing, use closed-loop water cooling systems. These recirculate the same water or coolant mixture in a sealed circuit after an initial fill, instead of continuously evaporating water in open cooling towers.
Data centers can and increasingly do generate their own electricity, often called behind-the-meter or on-site generation. This has shifted from backup generators to primary power as AI-driven demand outpaces grid interconnection timelines.
Many data center developers are choosing to build their own power plants and avoid the grid.
Would you rather have a giant sports stadium nearby with the traffic problems, noise, and outdoor lights, or a self-contained data center that powers your phone, computer, home internet, kids’ gaming, and Amazon Prime account?
We need to be thinking rationally about this. Data centers are coming, despite China’s propaganda.
For a more nuanced explanation of the need for AI data centers, Economist Peter St. Onge on the Will Cain Show gives a quick tutorial: “Without data centers, we literally do not have food.”
A California native and Navy mom, Katy lives in Sacramento, CA.
- Sacramento City School District At Insolvency Tipping Point – Again - September 7, 2026
- Globe Accused of ‘Hit Piece’ over Exposé of CA Assemblyman Who Sent $6 Million to His Own Nonprofit from State Budget - September 7, 2026
- Federal Judge Tosses DOJ Lawsuit Over Trans Athletes in California Girl’s Sports - September 4, 2026
RELATED ARTICLES
-
March 12, 2026 -
August 31, 2026 -
November 21, 2024
“Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the ‘AI Data Center Moratorium Act.’ ”
If left to these two leftist dingbat Democrats, we would all be going back to horses and buggies. Democrats have zero common sense.
Any politician clutching their pearls about data centers should be subject to a campaign contribution investigation. My bet is that they are taking money from Russia and/or China. If that is the case, they are doing our enemies’ bidding in congress and are working against the USA. They must pay by being voted out of office. It’s that simple. Regardless of party.
Good job California glove way to censor and not publish comments!!
What are the data centers for? Are they the same thing? The green new deal was for to rob us blind and drive up our energy cost?
We don’t trust big tech we don’t trust the government. They both got liability, shields, and no accountability. Look at all of the fraud. Look at all of the harm that are happening to children! Look at the schools indoctrinating and poisoning the children while pumping them on hormones under age without parent consent!
What are these data centers for? What do they need water for? I’ve heard several people say they build data centers and they don’t use any so why do they need access to our water?
I understand that presently I can stream and I have no problem with it. Why do we need all of these massive data centers? Are they for flock cameras in the new level of surveillance happening with the 60 million light poles and cameras?
We’ve all seen the energy companies, double and triple our pricing after the last 2 to 3 years and unaccountable bureaucrats are not held accountable while judges, release, murders and rapist. How is this gonna help my son or daughter ride their bike and not be raped by the legal alien? Or was it because the flock camera is gonna watch the illegal do it and then they’re gonna be let go by a liberal judge?
The government has done a piss poor job explaining what this data center is gonna do for the average American. Apparently they think we’re that stupid and it’s just for streaming. This is for the digital prisons everybody. 15 minute cities, moving lower classes into suburban areas based on investments in new housing!
My first comment was much better, but they censored it immediately deleted it.
All anybody has to say is that china is behind stopping the data centers and the witless immediately support the centers. Ignorant of the reason we would ever need so many collection sites or why they need to be so big or why they require so much water or why they have been built for more than a decade without so much as a peep from the msm. No one knows if these centers adversely affect wildlife(like the 5g towers). Is there any connection at all to the heavy metals that now swim in the bloodstream of the jabbed? No one wants to know. I have no doubt some lemming will call me a conspiracy nut. Another ploy of the globalists.
J.D., do you have an email account? It is hosted on a data center. Do you do texting? It is hosted on a data center. Do you video chat? It is hosted on a data center. Do you do web searches? It is hosted on a data center. Do you store files in cloud storage? It is hosted on a data center. Do you watch online videos? It is hosted on a data center. Do you have a cell phone? It is hosted on a data center.
So it is a bit disingenuous to say we don’t need data centers when you are using them now. They have been around for decades. You just didn’t have the Chinese and the puppet Democrats telling you they are bad. The only thing that needs to happen is they have be located in places that do not disturb the nearby residents. That can easily be done. We have done it in the past, and can do it now.
No one gives a flip so long as datacenters
— bring their own electricity and water
— aren’t plopped down in stupid places, like adjacent to residential zones.
But where do they build ’em? In the water-strapped West. In rural areas where they can outbid local electric companies. Adjacent to homes. THAT is what we don’t want. (The surveillance horse is not only out of the barn, it took ship to China a decade back.)
Where’s the smart place to build datacenters? Abandoned industrial zones. Detroit will GIVE you the land (there goes the “cheap rural land” argument) and defer taxes to boot. Water and electric service already exist ON SITE, both are relatively abundant in that region, and a datacenter won’t be as noisy as the steel mill it would replace.
Even their own hiring industry says each offers at most about 100 jobs, so once the Mexican construction crew is done throwing up the prefab building (which takes a couple weeks), job creation is not a big positive.
@Reziac, Agreed. They need to be properly located. You’re right, Detroit would be a great place for data centers. There is tons of water. It is cold in the winter. There is a lot of abandoned industrial sites. The only problem is the state and city is run by backwards Democrats.
No, I don’t trust them at all. They are for the purpose of replacing humans. Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Ellison couldn’t wait to fire thousands of people. I also think it’s going to be used when our MONEY goes DIGITAL, like CBDCs aka CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY, UBIs aka UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME, the mandatory VACCINE PASSPORTS and ESG aka ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIAL GOVERNANCE courtesy of LARRY FINK of BLACK ROCK who also sits on board with the WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM. And as Yuval Noah Harari, a major advisor to the WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM said, WE DON’T NEED YOU ANYMORE. So, what are these wicked ELITES going to do with all these UNEMPLOYED People? then there’s the UN with its SMART CITIES aka 15-Minute Cities. So no, I don’t trust these Data Centers at all, even though I do use a computer. I just think these Data Centers will be used as part of the GLOBAL ELITE TYRANNY.