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Crémieux@cremieuxrecueil · Aug 19, 2026

Can telling people the truth about data centers—that they're safe and beneficial, with little environmental…

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Summary

Despite data centers being safe and beneficial with minimal environmental impact, public opposition remains strong regardless of factual messaging. Research suggests communities won't be convinced by truth or evidence, making direct incentives or bribes the most effective strategy for securing local support for data center projects.

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  1. #1

    Can telling people the truth about data centers—that they're safe and beneficial, with little environmental cost—convince them to support data centers? The answer seems to be...🧵 No. To start, notice that people really dislike data centers and don't want them built near them:

  2. #2

    People believe all sorts of lies, including ones that contradict one another. For example, people tend to think they'll both decrease property values and increase people's taxes. They don't see any contradiction! Perhaps they're imagining a worst-case local politician scenario.

  3. #3

    When you tell people the truth about data centers, majorities are not convinced. You can explain that they'll massively boost the local tax base or tell them that the studies about excessive water usage turned out to be erroneous, and they'll just shrug.

  4. #4

    People's disdain for data centers is so extreme that they don't even tend to believe that they'll make computing more accessible—their whole purpose! Unsurprisingly then, you'll notice that pro-data center messaging doesn't move people by much.

  5. #5

    If we want to win on the data center issue, the methods are going to have little to do with persuasion or getting the truth out there. A literature I reviewed in my latest article suggests that what really works is... Bribing communities. Check it out: cremieux.xyz/p/can-the-trut…