Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

MediaJustice @mediajustice.bsky.social · 18h

With the highest #DataCenter growth in the U.S., #BigTech is rotting the #Georgia peach.

With 100s of millions of annual tax breaks, learn how politicians have sold out to corporate greed at the expense of our communities’ drinking water and utility bills with our NEW report.
bit.ly/nodatacenters

1

Reposted by MediaJustice

Fight for the Future @fightforthefuture.org · 1d

@mediajustice.bsky.social did a deep dive on this - it’s definitely not a coincidence but Black + Brown communities are calling out decision makers + organizing against data center development all across the South 👏 mediajustice.org/resource/the...

3 23 40

Reposted by MediaJustice

Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 20h

"The FCC has no business interfering in constitutionally protected editorial decisions of licensees, and Brendan Carr is well aware of that," @seth-stern.bsky.social said.

Read the full letter from @nhmc.bsky.social: www.nhmc.org/defendthepre...

1 19 59

MediaJustice @mediajustice.bsky.social · 1d

Water isn’t the only thing #DataCenters take from our communities.

Read our full report, The People Say No: Resisting Data Centers in the South, to learn how Big Tech’s #RacetoAI is draining our energy, land, and tax dollars from Black, Brown and working class communities.
bit.ly/nodatacenters

2

Reposted by MediaJustice

Fight for the Future @fightforthefuture.org · 9d

TikTok moves one step closer to becoming a fully U.S. surveillance application. Move accordingly: fortune.com/2025/09/28/l...

Larry Ellison once predicted 'citizens will be on their best behavior' amid constant recording. Now his company will pay a key role in social media | Fortune

“Citizens will be on their best behavior because we are constantly recording and reporting everything that’s going on,” Ellison said last year.

fortune.com

1 22 24

Reposted by MediaJustice

Data & Society @datasociety.bsky.social · 7d

Join us on Oct 9 @ 12pm PT for a webinar on the histories, impacts & policies of California’s data centers. This talk will feature @khari.bsky.social, Masheika Allgood & Nicole Merino Tsui, moderated by Cecilia Marrinan of Kapor Foundation & @tamigraph.bsky.social kaporcenter.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

7 13

MediaJustice @mediajustice.bsky.social · 7d

Profit vs. the planet? It may sound like a dystopian movie, but it’s also the reality that #BigTech execs like Sam Altman are barreling us toward. 🥴

Read our new report, The People Say No: Resisting Data Centers in the South, to learn how they harm our communities:
bit.ly/nodatacenters

1

Reposted by MediaJustice

Fight for the Future @fightforthefuture.org · 8d

When Tiktok becomes the same MAGA hellscape as X, remember you have the Democrats to thank despite Fight for the Future and many other civil liberty and free expression experts ringing the alarm about how the sale of Tiktok could backfire.

@evangreer.bsky.social

1 18 48

Reposted by MediaJustice

The Lens Nola @thelensnola.bsky.social · 13d

#TheLensNola🔍 A new report warns that Big Tech’s rapid buildout of data centers across the South could usher in a new wave of environmental and economic harms for Black and working-class communities...

✍️ Gus Bennett

Full Story 🔗: buff.ly/6LDOIMO

2 10 10

Reposted by MediaJustice

Athena Coalition @athenaforall.bsky.social · 12d

Worker organizing has pushed Microsoft to end this specific partnership. However, the Israeli military plans to transfer the data to AWS.

Amazon & Google must drop their $1.2 billion cloud computing contract with Israel. Join @notechforapartheid.bsky.social.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians

Exclusive: Tech firm ends military unit’s access to AI and data services after Guardian reveals secret spy project

www.theguardian.com

1 3

MediaJustice @mediajustice.bsky.social · 12d

From Tucson to Memphis, communities are cutting through the #AI hype and resisting #BigTech's data center expansion.

Hear from @myaishahayes.bsky.social, @keshaunpearson.bsky.social, and Vivek Bharathan in @convergencemag.com on what local fights reveal:
convergencemag.com/podcast/orga...

Organizers vs. Big Data w/ Myaisha Hayes, Vivek Bharathan, Keshaun Pearson

Building community power against big tech, feat. Myaisha Hayes (MediaJustice), Vivek Bharathan (No Desert Data Center Coalition), Keshaun Pearson (Memphis Community Against Pollution).

convergencemag.com

1 5

Reposted by MediaJustice

Democracy Now! @democracynow.org · 13d

Assata Shakur, of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army, has died at the age of 78 in Cuba, where she received political asylum in 1984.

12 180 470

Reposted by MediaJustice

Fight for the Future @fightforthefuture.org · 13d

Data centers aren’t inevitable the way Big Tech wants us to believe they are…

Our friends at
@mediajustice.bsky.social are giving us the scoop on how Black, Brown and working class communities in the South are fighting back ✊🏿✊🏼✊🏾

Download the report! mediajustice.org/resource/the...

1 8 20

Reposted by MediaJustice

Virginia Grassroots Coalition - Climate @vgcclimate.bsky.social · 14d

'They are seeking a future where we have to compete with corporations for drinking water and subsidize Big Tech’s energy costs with our own wallets due to increased utility bills.'

MediaJustice @mediajustice.bsky.social · 14d

#BigTech executives pandering to Trump’s ego and policies goes beyond the theatrics.

Read our Sr. Research Specialist Jai Dulani's op-ed on how this administration has enabled tech companies to invest $20 billion+ in the South and how this harms our communities:
truthout.org/articles/big...

Truthout Article lead image of Tennessee State Rep. Justin Pearson speaking in opposition to a plan by Elon Musks's xAI to use gas turbines for a new data center during a rally outside of Fairley High School ahead of a public comment meeting on the project in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 25, 2025. Image Credit: Brandon Dill / The Washington Post via Getty Images

The article headline is: "Big Tech Data Centers Compound Decades of Environmental Racism in the South"

There is a quote block for: "The South has long been a site of both corporate extraction and fierce political resistance. Continuing this legacy of resistance, data center opposition is increasingly strong across the South."

1 4

MediaJustice @mediajustice.bsky.social · 14d

#DataCenters may feel like a mistake, but Jerome Scott of Project South speaks to how #RacializedCapitalism was intended to be.

Join the conversation by watching the full webinar recording of The People Say No: Resisting Data Centers in the South.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_5R...

1 3

Reposted by MediaJustice

State Voices @statevoices.bsky.social · 14d

We know the attacks on democracy that happen in the South ripple across the nation, and the expansion of data centers that endanger Black, brown & working class communities follow this trend.

Check out the powerful report from @mediajustice.bsky.social:
bit.ly/nodatacenters

MediaJustice @mediajustice.bsky.social · Sep 9

TODAY, we're launching The People Say No: Resisting Data Centers in the South, our report dedicated to exposing data center harms in the South and how our people are fighting back.

Read the full report, including case studies from 5 southern states:
bit.ly/nodatacenters

Report launch graphic for MediaJustice's newest report, "The People Say No: Resisting Data Centers in the South." The graphic is divided in two sides: on the left we have a sort of environmental utopia with wide canyons and folks in a canoe going by a stream. On the right we have the alternative, rows of data center equipment with endless wiring.

1 2

MediaJustice @mediajustice.bsky.social · 14d

#BigTech executives pandering to Trump’s ego and policies goes beyond the theatrics.

Read our Sr. Research Specialist Jai Dulani's op-ed on how this administration has enabled tech companies to invest $20 billion+ in the South and how this harms our communities:
truthout.org/articles/big...

2 6

MediaJustice @mediajustice.bsky.social · 15d

Our Head of Programs, Jacinta González, was featured in @theguardian.com’s latest article exposing how Palantir is not just complicit in ICE operations — it is the tech backbone of it.

From biometric databases to a nightmarish app, the surveillance state is here:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

The Guardian article imagery has a phone with Palantir on its screen. The article headline is "Documents offer rare insight on Ice’s close relationship with Palantir"

The selected quote is "'Now [with access to more federal databases] Ice can use this type of surveillance apparatus on anyone – not only anyone who is undocumented but anyone who this administration wants to criminalize and anyone who the administration wants to put under surveillance,' said González of MediaJustice."

2

MediaJustice @mediajustice.bsky.social · 16d

Thank you to the 250+ comrades who helped make our LIVE launch the MOST ATTENDED virtual event in our history!! 🎉

Bring our key learnings to your community with our companion toolkit, which has case studies and resources to uplift the fight to your community:
bit.ly/datacentertoolkit

Title: "Black and Working Class Communities Have Long Been Primary Residents of 'Sacrifice Zones'"

Text: "For Big Tech corporations (Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft), harming working-class communities of color isn't a bug in their system — it's a feature of their business model.

The South is quickly becoming the epicenter of data center development with over $200 billion dollars and counting being invested in data centers across the region. The same history of industrial exploitation and pollution is repeating itself now with data centers."

Title: "Cut Through the AI Hype"

Text: "The AI hype and the rush to build data centers is a con job with lethal consequences:
- Large amounts of energy, water, and land consumed to maintain them
- The sprint for fossil fuels and nuclear energy
- Air, noise, and water pollution
- Millions in tax breaks that could be used to provide life-saving services gets diverted to Big Tech
- No transparency and shady backdoor deals sidesteps local communities"

Speaker spotlight for Wanda Mosley, Deputy Policy Director at Black Voters Matter.

Quote: "This is about artificial intelligence and the need for these billionaire bros to control it to infiltrate our lives with what they want us to do, the places they want us to go, the things they want us to buy, and the things they want us to consume. That's what this fight is really about."

Title: "NOW is the Time to Act"

Text:
- Download our Full Report (bit.ly/nodatacenters) and Companion Toolkit (bit.ly/datacentertoolkit) to learn more about data centers.
- Sign the Petition for our Memphis comrades fighting xAI and its pollution with the link in bio.
- Organize with your neighbors and community members against data center proposals."

1

Reposted by MediaJustice

Athena Coalition @athenaforall.bsky.social · 18d

We rallied in NYC to expose how AI data centers are wrecking the climate just to make billionaires richer. Thanks to @stand.earth @mediajustice.bsky.social @notechforapartheid.bsky.social @biologicaldiversity.org and @nodesertdatacenter.com for the solidarity and art building skills.

2 9

MediaJustice @mediajustice.bsky.social · 19d

In town for #NYCClimateWeek?

TODAY, join us @athenaforall.bsky.social, & @notechforapartheid.bsky.social to rally against #BigTech’s data centers, ahead of the Make Billionaires Pay march to let #BigTech bros know our communities & planet aren't up for sale.

1 1

Reposted by MediaJustice

Athena Coalition @athenaforall.bsky.social · 19d

If AI is the technology of the future, why is it being powered by old-timey materials like coal? Data centers get 56% of their energy from fossil fuels. @mediajustice.bsky.social explains what that means for the South: mediajustice.org/resource/the...

The People Say No: Resisting Data Centers in the South - MediaJustice

Tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta have spent more than $100 billion on data center construction just this summer, and data centers are expected to pass total US consumer spending as...

mediajustice.org

1 2

Reposted by MediaJustice

Free Press @freepress.bsky.social · 20d

🗣This is nothing more than extortion and censorship.

Free Press' co-CEO @notaaroncraig.bsky.social breaks down the nuance in today's episode of media capitulation and blatant government censorship.

Our full statement: www.freepress.net/news/federal...

1 6 14

Reposted by MediaJustice

Fight for the Future @fightforthefuture.org · 20d

Friends at @mediajustice.bsky.social , @athenaforall.bsky.social + @notechforapartheid.bsky.social are rallying this Saturday to fight back against the nationwide expansion of AI data centers + ways Big Tech tech is fueling oppression of black and brown communities. Join them: bit.ly/datacenterra...

Rally: No Data Centers for Billionaires

Our rally: We’ll hear from local, state, and national organizers fighting back against Big Tech’s data centers across the country, as well as organizers and workers who are fighting to stop Big Te...

actionnetwork.org

1 12 19

MediaJustice @mediajustice.bsky.social · 21d

📣 NYC Comrades 📣

Join us, organizers, & workers this Saturday as we rally against #BigTech's data centers that are powering AI, raising energy bills, and polluting communities across the country. #NYCClimateWeek

@athenaforall.bsky.social @notechforapartheid.bsky.social
bit.ly/datacenterrally

Rally graphic for "Rally to Fight AI Data Centers." Under the title, text reads, "Stop Big Tech from using our water, power, and tax money to fuel their AI power grab." The date is "Sept. 20th, Rally at 11, March at 12." The location is "375 Park Ave, New York, NY 10022." Under this is the registration link, "Register now! bit.ly/datacenterrally"

2