The Wired investigation that exposed surveillance of data center opponents was built entirely from
The short version: A Wired investigation built from public records shows opponents of data centers got surveilled, and it proves the paper trail residents need is often sitting in a county file, unread.
Our Take
Man of His Word makes a point that should embarrass every county clerk's office in America: the same records that exposed fusion-center surveillance of data-center opponents are the kind any resident can pull before a vote, not after a scandal. Water allocations, power purchase terms, tax abatement schedules, the developer's actual application — it's usually public, it's usually boring, and it's usually never read aloud at the meeting where it matters.
That's the real scandal underneath the scarier one. Communities aren't losing these fights because the information is hidden; they're losing because nobody forces it into the room before the commissioners vote yes. And when residents do start organizing to ask questions, apparently some of them get treated like a security threat instead of a stakeholder. That should tell you something about who these deals are built to protect.
If your town has a project moving through approval right now, don't wait for an investigative outlet to file the records request for you. Check our facility map to see what's already been built near you, and use our take-action page for the actual document requests to file before your county signs anything.
This is GridWatch the USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Man of His Word, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.