Kevin O'Leary addresses 'misinformation' on Utah data center project
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you.
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Kevin O'Leary claims Chinese propaganda is to blame for anti-datacenter backlash, 'hundreds of millions of dollars' being spent to kill US dominance in AI'
To say that data centers are becoming unpopular would be the understatement of the decade. Cities, states, and countries are racing to impose strong restrictions on new buildouts, when they're not banning them altogether. Predictably, Utah residents are up in arms about
Shark Tank billionaire investor Kevin O'Leary's new $100-billion,
40,000-acre data center. There's a twist, though: O'Leary, the Trump administration, and pro-industry groups claim the opposition is driven by Chinese propaganda, as detailed in
an exposé at The Washington Post.
O'Leary, or "Mr. Wonderful," as he's known to friends, made this statement for the first time in a May 10 interview with Fox News, further expanding it across subsequent TV interviews and X posts. He added claims that "hundreds of millions of dollars" coming in from China make up the effort, often funneled through other nations to reach paid protesters, which, in the case of Utah,
were allegedly 90% bussed in.
The Post report also notes that some U.S. officials have expressed similar views, such as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum,
who has stated that "[opposition is] not organic and local. Some of this is foreign source dark money coming in," adding later on that "any place that's trying to build data centers is getting bombarded with foreign-directed propaganda." As of this writing, neither O'Leary nor Burgum has provided verifiable evidence for these claims. Interestingly enough, O'Leary also believes that regular power plant projects are also being targeted by foreign astroturfing.
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