OpenAI Attributes the 'Data Center Bandwagon' Astroturf Campaign to a Private Chinese Firm Working for Provincial Government Clients

The Hill (corroborated by CyberScoop; surfaced via r/ChatGPT, 110 upvotes / 147 comments)·medium signalXBlueskyLinkedInCopy link

OpenAI disclosed a China-linked influence cluster that used ChatGPT to generate fake American personas arguing that US data centers would spike electricity bills and harm local communities, traced to a private Chinese technology company serving provincial government clients. The same X network repeatedly posted fabricated claims that ChatGPT user data had been compromised. OpenAI rated it 'category one' — most posts had little or no observable engagement — and framed the significance as PRC-origin operators testing narratives against AI infrastructure rather than any measurable opinion shift; congressional Republicans have picked it up as a frame for the domestic data center backlash.