Kevin O'Leary likens AI data centers' water use to golf courses
None Detected
How They Deceive You
Propaganda
No manipulation detected; findings and omissions both listed as none.
Main Device
None Detected
Title and metadata show direct reporting of a quoted analogy with no added framing or distortion.
Archetype
Neutral business commentary
Simply relays a market-oriented figure's comparison without injecting environmental or regulatory spin.
Straight reporting of a quoted statement with zero detected manipulation or selective omission.
Writer's Worldview
“Neutral business commentary”
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Narrative Analysis
The Business Insider article delivers a concise, neutral account of Kevin O'Leary's defense of AI data center water consumption, accurately relaying his comparison to golf courses without added framing or distortion.
Key Findings
- The piece correctly identifies O'Leary's core argument: his Utah project (1.4 gigawatts in the first phase) uses water at levels comparable to a golf course, based on his statements on Glenn Beck's program.
- It notes O'Leary's direct involvement through O'Leary Ventures in developments in Utah and Canada, establishing his stake without exaggeration.
- The reporting sticks to verifiable details from the radio appearance and avoids unsubstantiated claims about broader industry impacts.
"Kevin O'Leary is pushing back against a common concern in the AI data center boom: that the sprawling facilities consume too much water and put pressure on those local systems."
This approach keeps the focus on the subject's position rather than editorializing.
What Was Missing and Why It Matters
No verifiable factual omissions appear in the provided excerpt. The article limits itself to O'Leary's statements and project details, which aligns with its narrow scope as a report on one public figure's comments.
Source and Author Context
Natalie Musumeci, a senior reporter at Business Insider with over a decade covering legal affairs, business cases, and crime, wrote the piece. Her background includes police reporting at the New York Post and New York Daily News. The article reflects standard news-gathering practices without signs of selective sourcing or loaded language.
Bottom Line
The article functions as straightforward reporting that presents O'Leary's water-use defense on its own terms. Its strength lies in clarity and restraint; its limitation is the absence of additional data on actual consumption figures, which would require separate sourcing beyond this single interview.
Further Reading
No alternative coverage data was available for direct comparison in this assessment.
Neutral Rewrite
Here's how this article reads with loaded language removed and missing context included.
Kevin O'Leary Compares Water Use of AI Data Centers to Golf Courses
Kevin O'Leary has defended the water consumption of AI data centers by comparing it to that of golf courses. The "Shark Tank" investor and O'Leary Ventures principal made the remarks during an appearance on Glenn Beck's radio program while discussing his firm's plans to develop large-scale data centers in Utah and Canada.
O'Leary stated that the initial phase of the Utah project, which has a planned power capacity of 1.4 gigawatts, would consume water at levels comparable to a golf course. He extended the comparison to new data centers generally, saying any modern facility "is like a golf course" in water usage and that critics should evaluate projects against that benchmark.
Data centers require water for direct cooling of servers as well as indirect consumption tied to electricity generation. A prior Business Insider examination of U.S. facilities found that some of the largest sites received permits allowing daily water withdrawals exceeding the typical daily consumption of nearly 49,000 people, based on average per-person usage figures.
O'Leary noted that newer data centers operate with substantially lower water demands than facilities built 15 years ago in Virginia, where earlier projects drew criticism for higher consumption rates. He attributed the change to updated cooling methods.
Other technology executives have similarly addressed public concerns about data center water use. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman described certain online claims about water consumption for AI queries as inaccurate, stating that evaporative cooling practices have been replaced in many operations by closed-loop systems that reduce or eliminate such withdrawals. Altman called assertions of high per-query water use "totally insane" and referred to water as "totally fake" in the context of current infrastructure.
During the same radio appearance, O'Leary argued that data center developers should supply their own power generation as part of project approvals. He said operators would need to invest billions in power infrastructure and return a portion of the output to the local grid to support broader competitiveness.
O'Leary Ventures is proceeding with the Utah and Canadian developments. Separately, O'Leary faces a defamation lawsuit filed by individuals who opposed the Utah project. The suit stems from statements O'Leary made in media interviews alleging that some critics received funding from the Chinese Communist Party. O'Leary later posted on social media that he lacked evidence linking the opponents to Chinese government sources.
Jeffrey Neiman, an attorney representing O'Leary, stated that the client plans to contest the claims vigorously and may pursue counterclaims. Neiman characterized the lawsuit as a "cash grab."
Data center construction has accelerated with demand for AI training and inference workloads. Industry participants continue to discuss efficiency improvements in cooling and power systems alongside local permitting requirements for water and electricity. O'Leary has positioned his projects as examples of facilities designed under current standards rather than older designs associated with higher resource use.
The Utah development remains in planning stages, with O'Leary emphasizing power self-sufficiency as a condition for proceeding. No specific water permit volumes for the site have been detailed in public statements from the company.
Investigation Log · 23 steps
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Investigating Business Insider
Investigating Natalie Musumeci
Source: Business Insider
Business Insider is a New York City-based financial and business news website founded in 2007 by Kevin P. Ryan and Henry Blodget. It publishes original reporting alongside aggregated material and maintains a liberal policy on anonymous sources. Since 2015, a majority stake in its parent company Insider Inc. has been held by German publisher Axel Springer SE.
Source: Natalie Musumeci
Natalie Musumeci is a senior news reporter at Business Insider covering legal affairs, business cases, and high-profile criminal matters. She has more than 12 years focused on crime and courts reporting, including a police beat at NYPD headquarters, with prior roles at the New York Post, New York Daily News, and The Brooklyn Paper. She graduated from Brooklyn College in 2012 with a journalism degree.
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**Investigation complete.** The article is straightforward, accurate reporting of Kevin O'Leary's public statements on Glenn Beck's show. No manipulation techniques, factual errors, or deceptive framing were identified. The golf-course comparison is presented as O'Leary's own analogy (with context on his financial interest), balanced by the article's note on data centers' actual water use and a prior BI investigation. The 49,000-Americans figure is referenced from earlier BI reporting without contradiction. **Verdict:** A (neutral business commentary). No propaganda devices detected.
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