Promotional campaigns frequently advertise inflated economic perks while hiding that many roles are temporary or subcontracted, and tax gains are diminished by substantial abatements. Meanwhile, complex phrases such as behind-the-meter power are utilized to minimize massive electrical and water footprints. Strict non-disclosure agreements and corporate-backed legal fights actively prevent residents from obtaining accurate municipal data. These combined tactics leave neighboring communities to shoulder severe environmental burdens and infrastructure costs without early democratic participation.
Key points
Economic promises surrounding datacenters frequently mislead the public by hiding tempora…: Economic promises surrounding datacenters frequently mislead the public by hiding temporary roles and costly tax abatements.
Environmental claims rely on technical jargon to downplay substantial local water and ele…: Environmental claims rely on technical jargon to downplay substantial local water and electricity depletion.
Non-disclosure agreements and withheld records routinely prevent communities from partici…: Non-disclosure agreements and withheld records routinely prevent communities from participating in major infrastructure decisions.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
“Antifa”. “Commies”. “Chinese bots”. Everyone from tech leaders to the president has called datacenter resistance a “documented psyop” and a “Chinese PR thing”.
But why do they make these claims? Our new research finds that the datacenter industry uses propaganda, disinformation, and information control to mold public opinion and undermine community opposition.
Big tech’s opening pitch about datacenters was typical: they told Americans that these facilities brought jobs and tax revenue. They spread this message through mailers, text messages, TV spots and targeted digital ads.
But much of the spending behind these multimedia campaigns flowed through opaque non-profits and dark money groups with tech industry ties, hiding the source of these efforts. Groups like “Elevate New Mexico” have passed themselves off as local initiatives while obscuring their connections to corporate entities in the datacenter space.
As environmental concerns mounted, the industry turned to misdirection and jargon to obscure datacenters’ impact.
Developers continue to use terms such as “closed-loop cooling” and “behind-the-meter power” to deflect concerns about water and power consumption. But while these approaches can mitigate consumption, the effect is…
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