A community “activist” in Maryland blocked a $5 billion dollar data center that was planned for an abandoned 80-acre shopping center that closed in 2002. For the last twenty-five years, the Landover, Maryland shopping center has been boarded up behind a chain-link fence. The project would have brought jobs and much needed tax revenue to a county that has been losing jobs. 

It's important to look at who is actually funding these “local” activists. In this case, the “Party for Socialism and Liberation” promoted the local activist. It is a group funded by a China proxy, Neville Roy Singham of Singapore. The group is actively funding local community groups around the country to stop new data centers, particularly AI data centers. We are in an information technology war with China, which is funding the anti-data center propaganda in the U.S.

As we navigate the complexities of local activism and its funding sources, it's crucial for communities to exercise greater scrutiny over the motivations behind these movements. Understanding the influence of external entities, particularly those with ties to foreign interests, can help ensure that decisions made about significant projects like data centers are in the best interest of local economies and residents.