--- title: "Fox News Takes Massive Ratings Hit As It Triples Down on Pro-Data Center Coverage" description: "Fox News ratings are tumbling after the news network embraced pro-data center narratives to a staggering degree." date: "2026-11-01" modified: "2026-11-01" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins.md" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/fox-news-media-data-center-propaganda-coverage" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Ethics" --- # Fox News Takes Massive Ratings Hit As It Triples Down on Pro-Data Center Coverage ![A photo illustration of Fox News on a smartphone.]() *Shutterstock* It's obvious by now that data centers are political kryptonite. Across the US, bipartisan backlash to data center projects has upended [city councils](), while [billionaire developers]() and [industry-aligned political candidates]() are being routed by grassroots opposition. But beyond those running for or occupying political office, the backlash is also taking a toll on news networks viewed as pushing pro-data center propaganda. Case-in-point is *Fox News*, which has [tailed president Donald Trump]() in embracing the AI industry's narrative on data centers — an editorial decision which happens to coincides with viewers fleeing the network in droves. According to a [new analysis]() by Media Matters for America, coverage spinning data centers in a positive light shot up by a staggering 420 percent across *Fox* *News* over the past two months. On August 18, a memo issued by the National Republican Senatorial Committee went out to party insiders and top corporate executives, warning that [opposition to data centers]() presented a major challenge to the party's victory in the upcoming US midterm elections. As Media Matters notes, *Fox* *News* quickly fell in line, increasing the total number of pro-data center claims to 203 between August 19 and September 2, compared to just 39 from August 5 through August 18. Bizarre claims of "far-left activists" and Chinese government propaganda likewise proliferated, teeing up Republican faithfuls to blame a boogeyman for the rise in anti-data center rhetoric. Surprisingly, the tactic appears to have backfired, as even the network's most devoted acolytes reacted with disgust. "Just in case there were any dummies who thought *Fox News* cares what voters want," one disaffected viewer wrote in the YouTube comments under an [extremely sunny]() *Fox and Friends* segment on data centers. "They'll always protect corporate interests over conservative interests and (perhaps) even over protecting Trump in certain cases." "For the first time I’m going to say, FOX is GREEDY," another angry viewer commented. "For people who like to say they believe in God, \[they\] sure are failing on following his word." Recent [reporting by *Status*]() found that viewership of *Fox News* is in freefall following the shift — plummeting down 27 percent across the month of October to an average of 1.1 million total viewers. That data comes from media tracking company Nielsen, which also noted that viewership across the months of July, August, and September shriveled by 16 percent compared to the previous three months. Viewers in the 24 to 54 age range — a crucial demographic — tumbled 24 percent over the period. While there are likely a litany of other reasons for the shift, it's nonetheless a striking correlation that coincides with a broader falling out with Trump as president. American voters [overwhelmingly disprove]() of his handling of the economy, not to mention the [extremely costly]() war on Iran. With a crucial midterm election coming up, it remains to be seen how the backlash against the right's embrace of third rail issues like data centers will cost Republicans at the polls. **More on media:** *[You Know Those Three Brothers Who Buy Struggling News Sites and Turn Them Into AI-Powered Content Farms? It Turns Out One of Them Has Extensive Connections to Ghislaine Maxwell]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() ## More - [Kevin O’Leary Pleads With Locals to Allow His Massive Data Center If He Shrinks It Down to the Size of One Manhattan]() - [Fox News Instructs Viewers to Buy Plastic Christmas Trees So the Real Ones Can Be Sacrificed to Feed the Insatiable Hunger of AI Data Centers]() - [Amazon Warns Local Communities to Stop Defying Its Massive AI Data Centers]() - [Democrat and Republican Voters United on Key Issue: Hatred of Data Centers]() - [Mayor Caught on Camera Saying the Only Voters Who Oppose Data Centers Are Disgusting Poor People]() - [Protesters Crash Pro-Data Center Party, Escorted Out by Security]() - [For News, Americans Now Officially Prefer Social Media to Newspapers]() - [Farmer Hailed as Hero for Rejecting Huge Payment to Turn His Land Into a Giant Data Center]()