Inside the far-left's anti-data center push and what experts say is driving it: 'Playbook we've seen before'

Data‑center plans across the United States have become a flash‑point for a growing clash between environmental groups and the tech industry, a dispute that has already begun to shape mid‑term elections in several key states.

The most heated battles are in Texas, where developers have proposed large‑scale facilities that promise thousands of high‑wage jobs but also raise concerns about water use, land use and carbon emissions. Local opposition has been fueled in part by a coalition of left‑wing nonprofits, many of which have received money from progressive foundations and foreign donors, according to a group of experts who said the movement is “not an organic local movement.”

A “playbook” that is being repeated

Larry Behrens, communications director for the pro‑energy advocacy group Power The Future, told Fox News Digital that the tactics being used by anti‑data‑center groups are a familiar one. “It’s a playbook we’ve seen before,” he said. “They see this with oil or natural gas production within the United States.” Behrens pointed to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests as an example of how a group can appear grassroots while actually drawing on a common set of messaging and donors.

Behrens added that the groups in question “send their money through a maze of organizations, deliberately trying to mask what it is being used for and seeing that the tentacles reach in from far and are made to look local.” He also warned that “when the legislative language is the same, when the talking points are the same…then we start to see that this is not an organic local movement.”

Funding streams

Several of the groups that have taken to the streets to block data‑center construction—Public Citizen, the Sierra Club, CodePink and the Party for Socialism and Liberation—have been linked to progressive funding networks. Public Citizen has cited support from the Open Society Foundations, a network founded by billionaire George Soros. The Sierra Club received $3.6 million from the Arabella Advisors’ Sixteen Thirty Fund between 2014 and 2022. In Texas, Public Citizen is a founding member of the Texas Data Center Rebellion, a coalition that convened a two‑day meeting in San Antonio to rally activists from across the state.

CodePink, a left‑wing group that has targeted data‑center projects, has reportedly received funding from socialist megadonor Neville Roy Singham, whose ties to the Chinese Communist Party have drawn scrutiny. Fox News Digital previously reported that Singham funneled roughly $285 million into six activist nonprofits as the U.S. and China vie for global AI dominance.

Sixteen Thirty’s spokesperson, in response to the coverage, said the group “proudly supported the Sierra Club” and added, “Across the country, people have legitimate questions about how these projects could affect their communities. Dismissing those concerns as anti‑American or anti‑progress is absurd.”

Texas: the front‑line of the debate

In Texas, opposition has manifested in a series of events. The Texas Data Center Rebellion brought activists together in San Antonio for a two‑day convening that focused on the political, environmental and economic impacts of data‑center development. In Austin, the Sierra Club’s Austin chapter, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Save Our Springs Alliance organized a July “Defend Dog’s Head” forum that targeted a massive data‑center‑heavy development.

The protests in Texas are part of a broader Democratic strategy that includes the $30 million Texas Together campaign, a coordinated effort by the Texas Democratic Party, Texas Majority PAC, Beto O’Rourke’s Powered by People and other Democratic groups. Texas Together has hosted town halls and press events featuring Democratic candidates to discuss data‑center issues, while the El Paso Young Democrats and the El Paso County Democratic Party staged a protest against what they called “destructive AI data centers.”

Political fallout

The data‑center issue has already begun to influence congressional and statewide races. Candidates across both parties are being pressured to distance themselves from projects or to call for tighter regulations as voters voice concerns about electricity costs, water usage and the impact on local communities. The issue has shown up in Senate and gubernatorial contests in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Texas, with campaign ads highlighting data‑center opposition and incumbents who once championed the projects now demanding new rules or construction pauses.

Public opinion

A Fox News summer poll found that 70 % of voters oppose building data centers in their own communities, while only 30 % support it. Nearly eight in ten respondents said construction should move more slowly to address environmental and local concerns, with just 20 % favoring rapid development to preserve the U.S. competitive edge over China and other nations. Opposition cuts across generational lines, though MAGA Republicans and Republican men were the most supportive groups at 46 % and 45 %, respectively.

Industry response

Behrens urged data‑center companies to engage directly with local stakeholders rather than relying on what he described as “astroturfed” opposition. “I