Chinese bot farm caught red-handed trying to influence heated AI data center debate

The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has uncovered a massive suspected Chinese bot farm conducting “influence operations” online in the United States, including pushing an anti-artificial intelligence and anti-data center narrative.

This comes as a national debate rages over the costs and benefits of continuing to develop artificial intelligence at breakneck speed and the massive data centers required to power it. The debate also has immense political implications, dividing parties internally as many members of the GOP break with President Donald Trump on AI and data centers.

As this national conversation unfolds, X’s Global Government Affairs account said the platform’s safety team identified a bot farm of approximately 200,000 inauthentic Chinese accounts “involved in influence operations.”

The X team said that within the bot farm, 200 accounts were found posting “in a manner that could manipulate a legitimate debate about American AI and energy policy.”

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According to the platform, posts by these accounts contained claims that AI data centers are driving up household electricity prices and straining the grid. The X team said other accounts also posted AI-generated cartoons depicting data center developers enriching themselves at the public’s expense.

One image shared by the team depicted horrified citizens across from data center developers with bags of cash with the caption, “Data centers get subsidized while we foot the bill!” Another image read that “the AI industry is booming, but the costs are being borne by ordinary people.”

Earlier this summer, OpenAI announced that it had banned a “cluster of ChatGPT accounts that likely originated in China” that were being used to generate a “covert influence operation” primarily targeting U.S. audiences. OpenAI said the accounts generated short comments and images similarly claiming that data centers and AI were increasing electricity demand and causing higher costs.

The influence campaigns were discovered as debate rages over AI. Critics of AI development say the data centers required to power it harm the environment, drive up electricity costs and decrease neighborhood property values. Proponents, meanwhile, say AI data center development is critical to national security and boosts local economies by creating jobs.

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Speaking at the White House earlier this week, Trump suggested that the AI industry needs “a little public relations help,” pointing to a May Gallup poll that showed a majority of Americans oppose data centers being built in their communities.

He said that local communities and states should want to welcome data centers because “the jobs are enormous, and the money paid, the taxes paid are just enormous.”

“And if you don’t take it, you’re going to be left behind because there are plenty of places that want it,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has warned that China benefits from “overreaction” to “AI doomsdaying” in the U.S. as the two countries compete for dominance in the industry.

Fetterman wrote that “AI supremacy and energy dominance underpins our national security.”

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Following the discovery of the Chinese influence campaign, X’s Global Government Affairs team wrote that “we take seriously any attempts to undermine the integrity of the global town square and suspend accounts that violate our Authenticity policy.”

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The platform said it remains “committed to maintaining an open and authentic platform where people debate topics of public interest.”

Fox BUSINESS‘ James Cirrone and Fox News Digital’s Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.