US governors tighten rules on data centres as elections near
Pennsylvania and Texas set new standards for permits and tax breaks amid public backlash
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Cars drive past data centers on July 16, 2023, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
Photograph: Associated Press News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro will deny permits and tax exemptions to data centres that do not pay full electricity costs, limit water use, and conduct local outreach.
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed regulators to block data centre projects that could raise electricity bills and promised legislation to remove a billion-dollar-plus annual tax break.
- Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa released a TV ad accusing Abbott of favouring data centre executives, targeting rural discontent over water and land use.
- No right-rated outlet in the sample below reported on either governor’s announcement.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 9 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
65/100
Craft
75/100
Hype
35/100
9 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 9 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced on 17 August 2026 that data centre projects would no longer receive priority permits or tax exemptions unless they met new standards. The rules require developers to pay the full cost of their electricity, limit water use, and conduct local outreach. Shapiro, a Democrat, said the state was facing an “unacceptable number of speculative proposals” from developers who disregarded communities.
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott ordered regulators to prevent data centres from increasing electricity bills for residents. He also pledged to push legislation in 2027 to remove a tax break worth over a billion dollars annually. Abbott’s Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa, released a television ad the same day accusing him of “selling you out” to data centre executives, citing concerns over rural land and water use.
Both governors had previously supported data centre development. Shapiro and Abbott had actively recruited the facilities, but public opposition has grown over their energy and water consumption, noise, and impact on rural landscapes. Similar shifts have occurred in other states: Arizona imposed a three-year moratorium on data centre tax exemptions, New York banned large data centres for a year, and Illinois halted new tax exemptions until stricter standards are set.
What the coverage left out
No right-rated outlet in the sample below reported on either governor’s announcement. The omission covers Shapiro’s permit and tax exemption rules, Abbott’s regulatory order, and the billion-dollar annual tax break he pledged to remove.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 18 Aug 2026, 19:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
5 rated outlets
- The five left-rated digests and the Associated Press report led on Shapiro’s new standards and the broader political backlash against data centres. The AP report, carried in full by the Seattle Times, the Toronto Star, and the Bangor Daily News, quoted Shapiro’s statement that Pennsylvania was being “swamped” by speculative proposals from developers who “have no regard for local communities”. It also detailed Hinojosa’s TV ad accusing Abbott of favouring data centre executives.
- The AP report included the billion-dollar annual tax break Abbott promised to remove and noted that data centres use more energy than small cities. It also mentioned opposition in Wisconsin, where Republican candidate Tom Tiffany attacked his Democratic opponent as “Data Center David Crowley”. The Independent’s digest, the shortest of the left-rated reports, still carried Shapiro’s permit and tax exemption changes.
Centre
4 rated outlets
- The four centre-rated digests and WPLG’s full AP report led on the governors’ policy shifts but gave equal weight to Abbott’s regulatory order and Shapiro’s permit rules. WPLG’s report, identical to the AP’s, included Abbott’s pledge to remove the billion-dollar tax break and his directive to regulators to prevent higher electricity bills. The digests from WKMG, WCBD, and the Star Beacon all mentioned the governors’ past support for data centres and the growing public opposition.
- None of the centre-rated digests or WPLG’s report omitted the billion-dollar tax break or the electricity cost requirement. The Star Beacon’s digest, the longest of the centre-rated digests, included the detail that data centres “use more energy than small cities”.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Read it at the source
9 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
5- Governors’ races are being increasingly buffeted by the toxic politics of data centers (opens The Seattle Times in a new tab)
The Seattle Times — is The Seattle Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Governors’ races are being increasingly buffeted by the toxic politics of data centers (opens The Toronto Star in a new tab)
The Toronto Star — is The Toronto Star biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Governors' races are being increasingly buffeted by the toxic politics of data centers (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Governors' races are being increasingly buffeted by the toxic politics of data centers (opens Bangor Daily News in a new tab)
Bangor Daily News — is Bangor Daily News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Governors' races are being increasingly buffeted by the toxic politics of data centers (opens Associated Press News in a new tab)
Associated Press News — is Associated Press News biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
4- Governors' races are being increasingly buffeted by the toxic politics of data centers (opens Star Beacon in a new tab)
Star Beacon — is Star Beacon biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Governors' races are being increasingly buffeted by the toxic politics of data centers (opens WCBD in a new tab)
- Governors' races are being increasingly buffeted by the toxic politics of data centers (opens WKMG in a new tab)
- Governors' races are being increasingly buffeted by the toxic politics of data centers (opens WPLG in a new tab)
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover US governors tighten rules on data centres as elections near?
- Of the 9 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 56% are rated left, 44% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is US governors tighten rules on data centres as elections near left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 9 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of US governors tighten rules on data centres as elections near biased?
- US governors tighten rules on data centres as elections near is one event reported by 9 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting US governors tighten rules on data centres as elections near?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered US governors tighten rules on data centres as elections near?
- 9 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What new rules did Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announce for data centres?
- Shapiro announced that data centres would no longer receive priority permits or tax exemptions unless they pay the full cost of their electricity, limit water use, and conduct local outreach. The rules aim to address public opposition to speculative proposals that disregard communities, as stated by Shapiro on 17 August 2026.
- What did Texas Governor Greg Abbott order regarding data centres?
- Abbott ordered regulators to prevent data centres from increasing electricity bills for residents and pledged to push legislation in 2027 to remove a tax break worth over a billion dollars annually. The move follows growing public concern over the facilities’ energy and water consumption, as reported on 17 August 2026.
- Which outlets reported on the governors’ data centre announcements?
- Five left-rated outlets and four centre-rated outlets reported on the announcements, all carrying the Associated Press’s account. No right-rated outlet in the sample covered the story, omitting Shapiro’s permit rules, Abbott’s regulatory order, and the billion-dollar tax break he pledged to remove.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
