Texas Governor Greg Abbott doesn’t believe the Chinese psy-op theory.
In a Fox News interview on Friday, the governor of Texas pushed back against the idea of China influencing the data center debate in the United States.
“I didn’t do it because of anything China said, I did it by listening and working with voters and seeing real issues they face in their communities,” Abbott said of his speech. recent moratorium about the construction of data centers in Texas.
“None of that has anything to do with China,” he added.
X said Thursday it had discovered a 200,000-strong Chinese bot farm and that a few hundred of those accounts were posting derogatory content about data centers “in a way that could manipulate a legitimate debate about American AI and energy policy.”
The revelation set off a new wave of “I told you so” from tech industry members, who say large numbers of Americans are being duped by cheap, AI-produced Chinese propaganda, and that anti-data center sentiment in the United States has been illegitimate as a result.
What X hasn’t revealed, says Clemson University researcher Darren Linvill, is that many of those bots had no involvement whatsoever and were probably quickly deactivated by X before they could gain followers.
On Fox News on Friday, host Will Cain brought up the X revelation and asked Abbott whether the “real concerns” about data centers in the United States were “driven by China.”
Abbott said China is certainly trying to exert influence data center sentimentbut added that his recent stance against the computer factories was the result of legitimate concerns from Texans in the communities where they are being built.
“We know what the energy demand would be for the state of Texas, which could provide five times as much energy as it currently has,” Abbot said.
Once a staunch supporter of data center construction in Texas, Abbott has recently changed course.
Abbott introduced new standards for AI data center projects in Texas, including directing the state Utilities Commission and the grid operator to protect residents from associated infrastructure costs. He also proposed a ban on data center development in rural Texas and said projects must undergo an audit before moving forward.
Abbott said earlier this month that his administration had halted about 1,800 AI data center projects in the state.
AI data centers are an existential problem for AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, and Microsoft, which rely on them to power their products.
But Americans all over the country are taking action battle against AI data centerswhich can cost billions to build and cover hundreds of hectares. Many are concerned about the impact of the sprawling facilities on the environment, energy prices, water supplies and noise levels. Some just don’t like AI.
The effectiveness of every Chinese campaign pushed by right-wing commentators, tech bros and… Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Learydeveloping a data center in Utah has been disputed by several researchers who study disinformation campaigns.
Samuel Woolley, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, said the only reports he has seen of Chinese AI data center propaganda have come directly from Big Tech companies, which he said have a “vested interest” in data center development in the United States. X is owned by Elon Muskwhose companies need AI data centers to survive.
“We have to take research that is potentially political with a grain of salt,” he said.
