'America hates data centers,' database shows over 90% of 10,000 public comments negative

A new website called American Sentiment, operated by San Francisco AI startup Prophecy Gov, has turned 10,202 public comments from 417 local government meetings in 2026 into a collection of facts and figures on data center sentiment. It found that 90.5% of comments were negative, while only 7% were positive and 2.5% asked questions. The database covers 48 states and 906 public meetings, and 73% of meetings had no data center supporters.

Water leads concerns

Water use was the most common concern raised against data centers. A single AI data center project reportedly consumed 29 million gallons of water in May, and local residents noticed a drop in water pressure. Beyond water, the impact on local quality of life and a lack of transparency around projects made up the top three complaints. Many people said they did not believe the claimed benefits of new facilities would come to fruition.

AI is not the main issue

Only 21% of comments made any mention of AI, meaning four out of five did not. Commenters named Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft among AI's biggest players. Elon Musk was the most mentioned person during meetings, followed by Sam Altman, Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos.

Support varies by group

Union workers were largely in favor, with 79% of those commenters supporting data centers. Only 3% of property owners and 3% of residents agreed, while 40% of data center workers were in favor. Supporters were outnumbered six to one overall, and 73% of meetings had no supporters at all.

Opposition crosses political lines

Red and blue counties opposed data centers at almost exactly the same rate. Rural counties most commonly worried about community character, farmland, and property rights. Urban and suburban commenters more often raised transparency, government distrust, air pollution, and utility bills. A report earlier this month warned that U.S. data centers could wipe out 15 years of progress in greenhouse gas emissions.

Sources: Tom's Hardware