Kevin O'Leary Alleges China Fueled Protests Against 40,000-Acre Utah Data Center

4 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · May 29

Salt Lake City protests last week targeted a 40,000-acre Utah data center backed by Kevin O'Leary, who now alleges China helped stir the opposition.
O'Leary and figures in the Trump administration cast the demonstrations as part of overseas propaganda, tying local resistance to foreign influence rather than only land-use or development concerns.
The report says those claims rest on scant evidence, leaving the foreign-plot narrative largely unsubstantiated even as it gains political attention.
The dispute broadens a local fight over a massive project in Utah's largely undeveloped northwest corner into a national-security argument over who is shaping public backlash to data centers.

When a data center offers only 50 jobs but demands a city's worth of power, should local communities have the final say?

Can we innovate energy-efficient AI before data centers consume a tenth of all U.S. electricity and drain local water resources?

As AI's energy use soars, will corporate pledges truly protect households from footing the bill for massive grid upgrades?