As residents of America's 13th largest state Utah took to streets to protest setting up of datacentres, billionaire Kevin O’Leary sees a 'Chinese angle'

Shark Tank’s Kevin O'Leary believes data centre protests in the US may have a Chinese ‘connection’. The Canadian billionaire investor suggested that these protests may be influenced by foreign actors after a proposed 40,000-acre data centre project in Utah, which he backed, faced opposition from locals. He has reportedly highlighted that groups linked to China, after residents of the state took to the streets to protest the development.According to a report by The Washington Post, the comments came after demonstrations in Salt Lake City against the project, which is backed by O'Leary and planned for a largely undeveloped area in northwestern Utah. In a recent video, O'Leary claimed that "nefarious accounts out of the country" connected to the Chinese Communist Party were amplifying opposition to the project through a foreign-backed influence campaign aimed at slowing America's AI infrastructure expansion.His remarks were later echoed by US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who said on Fox Business that communities seeking to build data centres were being targeted by "foreign-directed propaganda" designed to undermine the country's competitiveness in AI. However, neither O'Leary nor Burgum provided conclusive evidence to support the allegations.The claims have drawn criticism from community activists, policy experts, and even some supporters of AI development, who argue that public opposition is rooted in local concerns rather than foreign influence."This is like gaslighting 101, They are saying, 'Trust me. It is not what you think. It is what I am telling you,'" said Kyle Schmidt, a Trump voter who has organised opposition to a Google data centre project near Tulsa. He also questioned whether project backers would support similar developments near their own homes.Recent surveys have shown widespread public scepticism toward AI infrastructure projects. A Gallup survey cited in the report found that majorities of Americans oppose the construction of data centres in their communities, while other surveys indicate concerns about AI's impact on jobs and society.Ryan Fedasiuk, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, acknowledged that foreign propaganda efforts may exist but argued that they do not explain broader public sentiment."We also have to get real that China isn't the reason AI buildouts are unpopular in the United States ... Telling the hundreds of millions of Americans who are today anti-AI 'Your opinions were paid for by the CCP' is not a winning political message," Fedasiuk wrote on X.Several think tanks aligned with technology and energy interests have recently published reports claiming that opposition to data centre construction is being supported by foreign-linked funding networks. However, the reports largely cite grants from international donors to US-based environmental and advocacy groups rather than direct evidence linking foreign governments to local protests.The groups named in those reports have denied the allegations. Elizabeth Hutchings, communications manager at Alliance for a Better Utah, said public records don’t support claims that millions from the Chinese Communist Party are flowing into local advocacy efforts.Meanwhile, community leaders and industry observers say fears over water use, power needs, environmental impact, and quality-of-life issues in the area are fuelling opposition to large-scale AI infrastructure projects.Tamara Kneese, a senior researcher at the Partnership on AI, said it is difficult to attribute opposition to foreign influence when residents are raising concerns about issues that directly affect their communities."It is pretty hard to make the argument this is driven by foreign influence when you are dealing with people in sometimes very small communities showing up at town hall meetings angry about things directly affecting them," Kneese said.Some technology executives have also urged the industry to engage more directly with residents instead of dismissing their concerns. Daniel Golding, former director of global data centre infrastructure at Google, said the sector has struggled to explain the benefits of large AI infrastructure projects to local communities."The real story here is that public engagement is an area Big Tech is not really good at," Golding said.