GoKawiilSurvey of 10,000 public comments finds 90% oppose data centers
Prophecy Gov's American Sentiment project analyzed 10,202 public comments made at 417 local government meetings across 48 states in 2026, finding 90.5% were negative toward proposed data centers, 7% positive, and 2.5% neutral questions. The site reports that 73% of the 906 tracked meetings had no vocal supporters at all, and even where support existed, opponents outnumbered supporters six to one. Top complaints cited were water use, quality-of-life impacts, and lack of project transparency.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The data adds measurable backing to reports of growing community resistance to AI infrastructure, following incidents like Amazon's cancellation of four planned facilities after public pushback. Water consumption disputes—such as a project reportedly using 29 million gallons and Microsoft's counterclaim about restaurant-level usage—suggest the industry faces a credibility gap on environmental impact that could slow future builds. If sentiment data like this spreads, it may give local officials more grounds to reject or delay data center proposals.
- 90.5% of 10,202 public comments analyzed were negative toward data center projects
- 73% of 906 meetings tracked had zero vocal supporters for data centers
- Water use, quality-of-life concerns, and transparency were the top-cited objections
Source: tomshardware.com — Oliver Haslam, 2026-11-02
Published there as: “'America hates data centers' — New data highlights public sentiment”
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