Allegations of Chinese Influence in U.S. Data Center Opposition Face Sparse Evidence

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum warned that opposition to new data centers “is not organic and local” and may involve “foreign-sourced dark money.” Investor Kevin O’Leary, backing the Stratos project in Utah, alleged the discovery of “two cells inside of Utah” that he said were linked to Chinese funding.

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A Gallup poll shows 71 % of Americans oppose local data center construction. OpenAI recently disabled a cluster of likely Chinese accounts that posted AI-generated anti-data-center content, noting minimal impact. Alliance for a Better Utah, a nonprofit with $200,000 revenue in 2024, denied any foreign funding.

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Analyst Kevin O’Leary, nonprofit Alliance for a Better Utah, consultancy Elevate Strategies, and Congressman Brett Guthrie, who asked FBI Director Kash Patel for a briefing, are involved. Utah approved Stratos in early May; O’Leary’s “two cells” claim emerged mid-May, and the project was scaled to one-quarter size by late May.

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Burgum asserted foreign money “is not organic.” OpenAI’s Nimmo said the Chinese activity “did not create a debate” and had limited impact. Guthrie’s letter to Director Kash Patel sought evidence of Chinese involvement. Finlayson said no foreign payments, and Utah Senate leadership’s concerns led to the project’s scale-back.

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Analysts from Clemson University’s Darren Linvill reported “we haven’t found much” evidence of a Chinese campaign. Bitcoin Policy Institute’s report listed three alleged influence vectors but offered little proof, and Chinese state media appears focused on promoting its own data centers rather than funding U.S. opposition.

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O’Leary alleged “millions of dollars” were funneled from the CCP, yet OpenAI found only a small cluster of Chinese accounts with limited reach. No financial trails have been verified, and Chinese state media has publicly promoted its own data centers rather than covertly funding U.S. opposition.

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• “It's not organic and local, some of this is foreign-sourced dark money,” — Doug Burgum, U.S. Interior Secretary

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• “This was not a case of an influence operation creating a debate. The debate existed already. This was an influence operation from China trying to interfere in it. We didn't see any signs that they succeeded,” — Ben Nimmo, OpenAI Threat Investigations Lead

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• “We found two cells inside of Utah.” — Kevin O’Leary, Investor

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• “We are certainly not a Chinese cell. Nobody pays us to make any content, let alone any foreign government,” — Gabi Finlayson, Senior Partner, Elevate Strategies

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• “I think in this case, the people talking about data centers are real people with real passions and real perspectives and real opinions.” — Darren Linvill, Co-lead, Media Forensics Hub, Clemson University

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The scaled-down Stratos facility is slated to proceed at one-quarter of its original footprint. Congressional interest may prompt an FBI briefing on foreign influence, while watchdog groups continue monitoring online discourse for any coordinated campaigns.

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