X Says Chinese Bot Farm Used AI-Generated Content To Target Data Centres

X says its Safety team has identified a network of about 200,000 accounts linked to suspected inauthentic activity originating in China, including a smaller group that targeted public debate over artificial intelligence data centres and energy policy in the United States.

According to findings published on X’s Global Government Affairs page, about 200 accounts in the network shared comic strips, images and written posts arguing that AI data centres could increase household electricity costs and place additional pressure on local power grids.

X said the activity had the potential to influence legitimate public discussion about AI and energy policy. The company did not identify the accounts publicly, although it published examples of the material on its platform.

The company said: “We remain committed to maintaining an open and authentic platform where people debate topics of public interest. We take seriously any attempts to undermine the integrity of the global town square and suspend accounts that violate our Authenticity policy.”

AI-Generated Images Used In Anti-Data-Centre Campaign

Examples released by X indicate that the accounts used AI-generated illustrations alongside their written arguments. The images portrayed data-centre operators as businessmen profiting from the facilities while ordinary households were depicted as bearing the associated costs.

The material appears consistent with findings previously published by OpenAI in June. That report described activity involving users likely based in China who used ChatGPT to create anti-data-centre content.

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OpenAI said at the time that the users were likely employing fake accounts to distribute material on social media. However, the activity was not limited to fabricated or inflammatory material. The users also shared what OpenAI described as “legitimate news stories about the power grid operator's capacity auctions and data center power demand.”

The presence of an inauthentic campaign does not, by itself, establish that every issue raised in the posts is false. Electricity demand from large-scale data centres and its effect on local power systems are legitimate subjects of public policy debate.

Goldman Sachs reported that electricity prices had risen 6.9 per cent year-on-year by February 2026 and expects prices to continue increasing as demand from AI facilities grows.

Scope Of X's Bot-Farm Investigation Remains Unclear

X has not explained what the remaining accounts in the approximately 200,000-account network were posting, or whether they were connected to the 200 accounts identified as promoting anti-data-centre messages.

OpenAI’s June report provided additional information about activity associated with the China-linked ChatGPT users. It said they had also prompted ChatGPT to produce insults aimed at Chinese dissidents and political commentators, as well as criticism of US tariffs and technology policies.

The findings from X and OpenAI concern suspected coordinated or inauthentic activity and the use of AI tools to produce content. They do not establish that the underlying debate over data-centre electricity demand is itself illegitimate.

X said it suspended accounts that breached its Authenticity policy as part of its efforts to maintain what it described as an open and authentic platform.