The Wall Street Journal (Center) and its Editorial Board (Lean Right) have published scores of articles on AI data centers in the past few months. But despite widespread questions about data centers from concerned citizens across the country, The Journal has not only increased coverage of these centers, but tends to show a “pro-data center” bias, framing them positively in news coverage and in opinion pieces it has platformed.
The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board is extremely in favor of building more data centers, as it sees them as necessary for sustaining American economic growth and establishing tech dominance over China. WSJ also provides a platform for executives in the fields of technology and energy to advance their own pro-data center interests via editorials and letters to the editor, showing some elite bias (as opposed to populist bias).
Data Center Boom
As artificial intelligence (AI) booms worldwide, with several American companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google leading the way, the US has become the main hub for AI and cloud computing.
Such a shift has resulted in a demand for more data centers – the physical buildings that house the servers tech giants rely on.
While they’re nothing new, their construction has surged in recent years, with around 300 built in the US in the past three months alone, according to DataCenterMap.com, a database that has existed since 2007.
In total, the US is home to 4,235 of the world’s 11,350 data centers, over eight times more than the UK and Germany, which have the second most, at over 500 each.
Despite being a hot-button issue with many everyday Americans – especially those from rural areas where data centers are currently being rapidly constructed – the issue was not widely covered by mainstream media outlets, but has begun to pick up steam over the past few weeks.
WSJ’s Data Center Coverage by the Numbers
The Journal has long covered developments on data centers and tangential topics, having posted 344 articles under its “Data Centers” topic tag since its creation in 2020.
Coverage has drastically accelerated in the past year or so. As vocal public dissent towards data centers has picked up in early 2026, so has The Journal’s coverage of them.
From 2021 to 2023, coverage wasn’t as common and remained steady in volume. The Journal published 14 articles under the Data Centers tag in 2021, followed by 19 in 2022 and 16 in 2023.
The Journal’s data center coverage really escalated in 2024, when it published 63 articles on the topic, two of which were opinions, one directly from its Editorial Board.
In 2025, coverage more than doubled, to 136 total articles – five opinions, three from The Editorial Board.
As of April 30, The Journal has published 89 articles about data centers in 2026. Fourteen of them were opinions, and four more were from the Editorial Board. April saw a flurry of opinion pieces, with six total, as other mainstream outlets have begun to publish more coverage of data centers in this timeframe as well.
Examining WSJ Opinion’s Recent Coverage of Data Centers
Opinions published by The Wall Street Journal Opinion have been extremely pro-data center, usually from commentators who have a significant personal interest in AI, electricity, or data center production.
April 28: The Best Place for a Data Center? Croatia - “Its location, stable rules and energy grid land a record project.”
Opinion by Ryan Rich
- Rich is “managing partner of Pantheon AI and founder of 24 Ventures, a venture firm headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y.” In the piece, he announces and details a €50 billion data center project his company, Pantheon, has planned for Dubrovnik. AllSides did not find any other published works by Rich online.
April 24: Dredge Up Water Policy Realities for AI Doomers - “Those urging America not to build are coming from an unrealistic scarcity mindset." [sic]
Letter by Josiah Joner
- This opinion consists of two separate letters readers apparently wrote to The Journal in response to an April 17 opinion titled “Water, Water Everywhere—Except in California’s Reservoirs.” In one, Josiah Joner of Washington praised the April 17 opinion for “factual, honest analysis” on dredging, and regarding data centers, accused “AI ‘doomers’” of “push[ing] narratives that data centers cause water shortages.” He added, “While data centers may increase a region’s water consumption, they aren’t to blame for shortages. Elon Musk’s Colossus 2 data center uses the equivalent water of two-and-a-half In-N-Out joints. Powering a technology that could cure cancer is at a minimum on par with an animal-style double-double burger.“ The Editorial gave no other context on who Joner is.
April 13: Maine’s Moratorium Hinders Manufacturing - “Why would state lawmakers now turn their backs on building the infrastructure of America’s future?”
Letter by Doug Kelly, CEO of the American Edge Project
- Doug Kelly is the CEO of the American Edge Project, a pro-AI advocacy group. He wrote the letter in response to a news article The Journal published on April 3, suggesting Maine will halt upcoming data center projects. Kelly concluded, “Maine has an opportunity to compete for the infrastructure that will define the next generation of economic growth. A moratorium risks turning that opportunity into a missed moment.”
April 9: Maine Shouldn’t Miss the Infrastructure Boom - “A moratorium on data centers would send the wrong signal at the wrong time.”
Letter by Ross Connolly of Americans for Prosperity
- This opinion was strikingly similar to Doug Kelly’s on April 13, and came as a letter from Ross Connolly of New Hampshire, who is listed as affiliated with the libertarian Koch Brothers-funded think tank Americans for Prosperity.
April 9 - New Data Centers Won’t Be Draining Us Dry - “The U.S. loses over two trillion gallons of water annually to leaky pipes, a far larger problem.”
Letter by Sarah Montalbano of Always On Energy Research
- In this letter to the editor from Sarah Montalbano, who is listed as being affiliated with the nonprofit Always On Energy, she criticized Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)’s proposal to create a federal moratorium on data centers, and, like the April 24 letter from Josiah Joner, played down the idea that data centers consume too much water.
- Always On Energy Research states its vision is pursuing “a globally dominant American energy policy that ensures abundant, reliable, and affordable power for all while maintaining a clean environment.” According to the organization’s website, its four team members have been widely published in mainstream journals, and three of the four have been published in The Wall Street Journal.
April 7 - The Democratic Race to the Left - “In Maine’s Senate primary, Janet Mills chases Graham Platner on a data-center ban and a huge tax increase.”
Opinion by The Editorial Board
- On April 7, The Journal’s Editorial Board criticized Democrats for embracing populism, and Maine Governor Janet Mills, whom it described as “a putative moderate,” for the political strategy in her ongoing re-election campaign. The Editorial Board said, “Progressives say data centers drive up electric rates, but the real culprit is their green energy policies that have pushed coal and nuclear plants to shut down and created supply shortfalls. New data centers could strain the electric grid if not enough reliable baseload power is brought online to support them.” It also said a nationwide ban on data centers “would be a form of economic surrender to China in the AI race, which progressives don’t seem to mind.”
- As for Mills, The Board focused on her stance against data centers. It quoted one of her aides, who in January said, “to date, there has been very little data center development activity in Maine, and nothing related to data centers has had any impact on Maine’s electricity prices yet.” In response, The Board said, “So then why ban them?” and said such data-center-ban policies are “becoming part of the Democratic Party’s catechism.” It added, “This doesn’t bode well if Democrats take back one or both houses of Congress.”
March 26 - Democrats for Energy Disarmament - “They add AI data centers to their anti-fossil-fuel target list.”
Opinion by The Editorial Board
- In this piece, The Board accuses Democrats of using the surge in data center construction to “promote their green energy agenda” and wanting to “strangle” AI advancement with “red tape.”
March 9 - Abandoned Mines Can Become Data Centers - “Instead of placing data centers on valuable farmland they could be located on reclaimed sites throughout the Appalachian coal fields.”
Letter by Steve Gardner, former President of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical & Petroleum Engineers
- In this letter, Steve Gardner, a Republican from Kentucky who has worked in the mining industry for almost 50 years, according to Wikipedia, explains why abandoned mines in Kentucky should be prime real estate for data center construction. AllSides did not find any other bylines from Gardner, but during the first Trump administration, President Trump nominated him to serve as the Director of the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation & Enforcement (OSMRE) at the Department of the Interior.
March 5 - Energy Affordability Runs Through the Grid - “The issue does not need to be resolved by passing new laws but by enforcing an existing one.”
Letter by Paul Cicio, Chairman of Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition
- In this letter, Paul Cico, who chairs the Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition, a “nationwide coalition committed to increasing competition” in electricity transmission, praises The Editorial Board’s February 26 “AI and the Data Center Backlash” feature and says the Trump administration should enforce Order 1000, which encourages competitive bidding for companies that must establish their own electricity transmission projects. AllSides did not find any other published works by Cicio.
February 26 - AI and the Data Center Backlash - “Companies will need ‘direct’ energy sources rather than rely only on the electric grid.”
Opinion by The Editorial Board
- In this opinion, The Board says that in order not to lose the AI race against China, American AI firms must give up on the “fantasy” that renewable energy will be enough to power data centers and must embrace “direct” energy sources like coal and natural gas.
February 9 - The Political Battle for AI in Space - “Will regulatory hurdles give China the edge in orbital data centers?”
Opinion by The Editorial Board
- In this piece, The Board highlighted ambitions from Elon Musk to launch solar-powered data centers into space and criticized “progressives” for pushing back on the idea. The Board supported the idea and wrote, “Operating data centers in space would avoid an environmental thicket and require less water and energy for cooling.” It concluded that “political interference” from the Democrats would be a “real danger” that “hamstrings America’s space development” and “gives China an upper hand” in the AI development race.
February 8 - Congress Shouldn’t Stop AI Innovation - “We need to minimize its disruption, but calls for a moratorium are wrongheaded.”
Opinion by Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA)
- In this opinion, Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) said Americans “must resist” the “urge” to be against data center construction and that “no amount of regulation will stop AI development.” He added, “Slowing innovation will ensure that China writes the rules for the next century.” Liccardo has exclusively talked to several mainstream outlets in recent months, including Politico (Lean Left) and The Washington Post (Lean Left), about his views on AI and energy.
January 16 - Data Centers’ Power Failure - “The cost of creating a data center should also include the cost of creating its own, discrete, power plant.”
Letter by Andrew Pearson of Bloomfield, NJ
- In this letter, Andrew Pearson of New Jersey, who The Board gave no other context on, responded to a January 13 opinion from Peter Huntsman, calling it “misguided.” He said the real cost of data centers includes “creating its own, discrete, power plant.”
January 13 - They’re Coming for Our Data Centers - “Environmentalists spent years throttling our energy supply. They’re at it again.”
Opinion by Peter Huntsman, Chairman and CEO of Huntsman Corp., a petrochemical manufacturer
- In this opinion, chemical manufacturing executive Peter Huntsman, who has both contributed and been a source for The Journal before, said “environmental nonprofits” are threatening to stifle economic growth by pushing for moratoriums on data center construction.
In reviewing all 14 of these opinions published this year, a few main sentiments become very clear.
The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board is extremely in favor of building more data centers, as it sees them as necessary for sustaining American economic growth and establishing tech dominance over China. In all four editorial features it published, China is framed or explicitly mentioned as the US’s number one adversary in the AI development race.
The Editorial Board regularly platforms executives in the fields of technology and energy to advance their own pro-data center interests. The only exception to this was the January 16 “Letters” feature, where a vaguely critical opinion from a seemingly “random” individual named Andrew Pearson from New Jersey was published.
It’s unclear why The Journal platforms the opinions of some executives as properly credited authors with a byline, while others are included as letters to the publication. The January 16 and April 24 letters from Joner and Pearson seem like traditional letter-to-the-editor-type features, though the others seem like extremely intentional “expert” opinions thinly veiled as reader responses.
Perhaps “Letters” features are not as heavily edited by The Board, though if it’s the case, The Board is still turning to partisan, highly-credentialed, and seemingly-favored readers for their takes that overwhelmingly enforce The Board’s own agenda. This is a very obvious example of what AllSides calls elite vs. populist bias.
While WSJ Opinion’s overall direction on data centers is absolute, there are a few other, more nuanced observations worth noting.
As noted above, on February 9, The Board criticized “progressives” for being bullish on Elon Musk’s ambition to launch solar-powered data centers into space. Then, just two and a half weeks later, The Board called solar-powered data centers on Earth in the near-term a “fantasy.” For such an abstract and novel technology, one would probably have to consult an expert to know how much more sense a solar-powered data center in space may make than one on Earth; nonetheless, seeing the two opinions from The Board juxtaposed without deeper context or explanation raises a flag.
Another interesting split is that on April 9 and 24, The Board published opinions from industry professionals who insisted Americans should not be concerned that data centers are consuming too much water. In its February 9 piece about potential data centers in space, The Board noted one of the pluses for sending them into orbit is that they will “require less water and energy for cooling.”
In a November 2025 AllSides Editorial Review of WSJ Opinion and its Editorial Board, AllSides team members noted seeing “strong pro-establishment conservative,” “pro-free market,” and “somewhat anti-populist” biases.
All of these are evident in WSJ Opinion’s coverage of data centers this year.
What Have Other Outlets Said About Data Centers?
While The Wall Street Journal has been intensely covering data centers over the past few years, and has accelerated in recent months, other mainstream outlets have recently begun to cover the topic more, often publishing opinion features of their own.
Libertarian magazine Reason (Center) published an opinion with similar sentiments to The Journal, calling populist opposition to data centers across the spectrum an “incoherent” position. On the other hand, The New Republic (Left) expressed opposition to data centers. Author Kate Aronoff accused the US of “embarking on a state-sponsored spending-and-building binge for a technology that most people here think will make the world—and their lives—worse.”
In the past few weeks alone, many mainstream outlets have published opinions on data centers and their construction. As the issue is one that has bubbled under in regions where data centers are planned for construction, local news outlets in particular have platformed opinions.
A recent selection of data center opinions from across the spectrum:
April 19 - We can't trust Big Tech to be responsible with data centers - USA Today (Lean Left)
April 23 - Are data centers bad? - USA Today (Lean Left)
April 24 - Could space-based data centers help power U.S. military missions in the future? - Washington Times (Lean Right)
April 24 - Cut better deals, but don’t shutter data centers - The Hill (Center)
April 28 - We need AI, but the political backlash cannot be ignored - The Hill (Center)
April 28 - Where Are All the Data Centers Going to Go? - Bloomberg (Lean Left)
April 29 - Hatred of Data Centers Is Irrational and Self-Defeating - Charles CW Cooke (Right) of National Review (Right)
April 29 - Data centers want Minnesota. Here’s what Minnesota should want back. - The Minnesota Star Tribune (Lean Left)
April 29 - Data centers are devouring the electrical grid. Is a crash around the corner? - Blaze Media (Right)
April 30 - New Albany shows data centers can make us efficient, healthier, smarter - The Columbus Dispatch (Center)
April 30 - The great American data centre divide - Financial Times (Center)
Avoid Being Fed Just One Perspective With AllSides
Many of the sources and authors across the political spectrum have expressed more critical or even bullish views of the American data center boom than The Wall Street Journal, which has been fairly monotone in its full-throated support for their accelerated construction and subsequent development of AI.
Such a spectrum of opinions shows why it's important for readers to consume news and commentary from a variety of news sources to make sure they are enabling themselves to see the full picture and not become trapped in filter bubbles.
Considering major news aggregators such as Google News or Apple News skew search results to usually elevate a specific group of corporate mainstream outlets, primarily consisting of those from the left and center, readers should also consider using the AllSides Balanced Search tool to source a variety of coverage and opinions that they may not otherwise see from the tech giants that dominate the news landscape.
Andy Gorel is the Managing Editor of AllSides. He has a Center bias.
This piece was reviewed by Julie Mastrine, Director of Communications and Bias Ratings (Lean Right), Emily Allen, News Analyst and Social Media Editor (Left), and Editor-in-chief Henry A. Brechter (Center).
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