GOP lawmakers, tech investors, and even OpenAI have tied the anti-data center movement in the US to Chinese interference. Experts say it’s much more complicated than that.

Tech millionaires claim China is behind a wave of local opposition to U.S. data centers, while providing little direct evidence.

“China is a common and comfortable boogeyman in American politics, for right or for wrong,” one political scientist told Fortune.

OpenAI found Chinese-linked accounts creating AI-generated posts about data centre electricity costs. The campaign had little reach. The debate is real anyway.

OpenAI said the effort "sought to exploit and amplify existing public concerns about energy prices and local impacts of data center development."

Chinese Embassy in Washington opposes 'groundless attacks or smears'

OpenAI's threat report reveals Chinese-linked ChatGPT accounts generated anti-data center content to undermine US AI competitiveness in a campaign called

State-backed Chinese hackers "sought to exploit and amplify existing public concerns about energy prices and local impacts of data center development," the company said.

GOP lawmakers, tech investors, and even OpenAI have tied the anti-data center movement in the US to Chinese interference. Experts say it’s much more complicated than that.