Media Matters: Fox News Shifted Toward Pro-Data-Center Coverage After NRSC Warning
Media Matters found that favorable Fox News coverage of data-center topics rose 420% in the two weeks after the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned technology companies about Republican candidates’ struggles in key battleground states, compared with the preceding two weeks. Pro-data-center perspectives from hosts and guests quintupled. Favorable claims increased from 39 to 203 and outnumbered opposing claims by almost two to one. The supplied report does not provide details about the polls it cites suggesting widespread public opposition to AI data-center development.
The analysis quantifies a sharp shift in Fox News coverage of data centers after the NRSC warning. It also highlights data centers as a political issue in the run-up to the November 2026 US midterm elections.
- Fox News pro-data center perspectives increased fivefold following a warning from the National Republican Senatorial Committee
- Republicans are losing the midterm electoral race in Ohio, and data centers are central to the Democrat campaign
- Tech companies were told to "fix how Ohioans see" data centers
New research has found that Fox News coverage on pro-data center topics has risen by 420% since August 18 2026 - the day the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned tech companies that Republican candidates were losing to Democrats in key battleground states.
These are the findings of Media Matters, a nonprofit journalism watchdog which analyzed the two weeks preceding the GOP warning and compared it to the following period. Pro-data center perspectives from guests and Fox News hosts quintupled.
AI, and the data centers that power the technology, have become a hot button issue in the run up to the November US midterm elections. Numerous polls have suggested that the majority of Americans oppose the buildout of AI data centers and infrastructure.
AI opposition is a Chinese psyop
The private memo from the GOP, as reported by Axios, explained that tech companies need to change public perspectives on AI data centers, lest Republicans candidates lose to a “Democrat candidate who wants to stop data center construction altogether, which will cause America to lose the AI race to China”.
#Fox News#National Republican Senatorial Committee#Media Matters