The Dispatch
· collected 2026-08-28 · by Steve Hayes, Jonah Goldberg, Megan McArdle, David French
The Dispatch Podcast host Steve Hayes discusses the recent surge in concerns about data centers, also known as "the AI data center moral panic", which has led to heated debates and campaigns in various areas. According to Jonah Goldberg, one of the guests on the podcast, there is a lot of misinformation driving public anxiety about data centers, with some people believing that stopping them will stop the development of artificial intelligence. The issue has been highlighted by recent articles in prominent publications such as the New York Times and Politico, which have reported declining public support for data centers.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-28,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Pennsylvania Democrat Josh Shapiro have recently reversed their stances on data centers, citing concerns from local communities about the impact of these facilities on the environment and society.
Just nine months ago, Abbott had announced that Texas was becoming a hub for AI development, with a $40 billion investment from Google. However, after facing backlash from local leaders, he now says that companies "dug their own grave" by rushing into data center projects without proper consideration for the community. Similarly, Shapiro signed an executive order this week to impose stricter regulations on data centers in Pennsylvania, including requiring developers to make binding commitments to community standards.
This shift in sentiment is seen as a response to growing concerns about the environmental and social impacts of data centers, which have sparked debates and campaigns in various states and districts. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has also acknowledged the need for change, stating that the tech sector needs to "do a much better job working with the communities."
Written for “Data Center Regulation Changes” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score +0.85 for article 2945 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-08-28
Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Megan McArdle, and David French to discuss the political battle over data centers and Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada.
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Hayes → join → Canada
The Agenda:
—How data centers affect communities
—National security implications
—Misinformation about data centers
—The U.S.-Canada trade war
—Worth your time:
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centers → affect → time
On today's roundtable, we'll discuss the nationwide political battle over data centers.
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we → discuss → centers
Why has the anti-data center campaign been so successful, and can America have a competitive economy without data centers?
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America → have → centers
Then we turn to President Trump's trade war with Canada and what it means for the future of US-Canada relations.
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it → turn → relations
I'm joined today by the Dispatch's Editor-in-Chief, Jonah Goldberg, Dispatch contributor and Washington Post columnist, Megan McArdle, and Advisory Opinions guest host and New York Times columnist, David French.
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Let's dive right in.
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[theme music] I wanna start today with a discussion about the politics of data centers.
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We have seen over the past several weeks, but in particular over the past week, a spate of articles in virtually every publication, New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, elsewhere,
noting the sort of heightened battles, not even battles, heightened concern about data centers and how it's driving political debates and campaigns in some areas and states and districts that we would expect, and probably some areas and states and campaigns that we wouldn't expect.
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we → see → that
There's a Politico headline on an article late this week that reads, "Everyone is making a U-turn on data centers as public support craters."
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support → be → centers
Jonah, I'm not sure it's everyone, but it feels pretty close if you're following this story lately.
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What's going on?
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Yeah, I mean, I don't think it's all one thing.
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it → mean → ?
I think there's a lot of misinformation out there.
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I think there's a lot of more generic anxiety about AI and whether people think they have agency is stopping the data centers.
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they → think → centers
If we can stop the data centers, we'll stop AI.
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we → stop → AI
They may not even articulate that in their own minds that much, but I, I can't dismiss it as part of, like, the general groundswell thing.
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I → articulate → thing
I think that in an era where the affordability stuff is real, anything that impinges on people's electricity rates is gonna freak people out, you know?
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you → think → people
There are just a bunch of those kinds of things that I think are real and they're legitimate, and politicians should do a better job of dealing with them.
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politicians → be → them
And then
beyond that, though, I think it's a moral panic.
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it → think → that
