NYT covers report on foreign actors in data center backlash with limited impact
AndyMasley · x · 2026-08-20
Andy Masley notes that the New York Times covered a report by Alethea on foreign actors involved in the data center backlash.
Report details:
- Mentions: Between Jan and June, 700 mentions of data centers were found in Chinese, Russian, and Iranian state media, a small fraction of their AI coverage.
- Disinformation: Russia-linked Storm-1516 published two fake stories about Firebird’s Armenian data centers, and the pro-Kremlin Rybar network pushed anti-data center stories.
- China & Iran: Mostly overt state-media coverage, not covert operations.
Conclusion: The report did not show this activity materially changed American opinion. Much of the Chinese material was triumphalist propaganda for domestic readers. Alethea also found engagement farming around anti-data center content on Facebook.
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