Tech companies and local officials are covering data center talks in NDAs
Loaded Metaphor Framing
How They Deceive You
Propaganda
Notable spin through loaded framing and selective emphasis that casts routine NDAs as suspicious while still referencing verifiable project details.
Main Device
Loaded Metaphor Framing
Opens with a Shakespeare 'something rotten' quote to imply corruption and secrecy rather than treating NDAs as standard business practice.
Archetype
Localist environmental skeptic of tech expansion
Views data centers primarily through the lens of community and ecological risk while treating economic incentives as secondary or suspect.
Frames standard NDAs as inherently shady via literary allusion and resident objections while minimizing documented job and investment benefits.
Writer's Worldview
“Localist environmental skeptic of tech expansion”
2 findings · 1 omission · 5 sources compared
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Narrative Analysis
The NPR article frames standard NDA use in a Louisiana data center project as suspicious secrecy through resident anecdotes and selective emphasis, while providing limited context on the practice's prevalence or the project's documented economic details.
Key Findings
- The piece opens with resident objections and a Shakespeare quote ("there's something rotten in Denmark") from beekeeper Foster Hensel, establishing an impression of wrongdoing before noting that NDAs are common.
- It highlights local distrust in Rapides Parish over the 300-acre Applied Digital project but buries later confirmation that "the use of NDAs for negotiations on data centers is common across the country, according to experts and those in the industry."
- Economic specifics receive minimal early attention: the $3.6 billion investment and 200 full-time jobs appear only after the secrecy narrative is established.
"The negotiations between the data center developer — Dallas-based Applied Digital Corp. — and local officials were shielded under nondisclosure agreements (NDAs)."
This structure prioritizes anecdotal framing over the project's permitting records and job projections.
What Was Missing
The article does not include data showing NDAs appeared in at least 25 of 31 Virginia data center projects examined in separate reporting. It also omits that Microsoft publicly ended its use of NDAs with governments in 2026. These verifiable details would have clarified whether the Louisiana case represented routine procedure or an outlier.
Source and Author Context
Drew Hawkins covers public health and special projects for the Gulf States Newsroom, an NPR-affiliated collaboration focused on Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The article draws primarily on local resident interviews and parish records requests.
Coverage Differences
Other outlets handled the same Applied Digital project with different priorities:
- KALB presented permit documents and company responses in a fact-check format without discussing NDAs.
- Economic development coverage from growwithalexandria.com led with the $3.6 billion investment and job creation figures.
- Industry commentary on LinkedIn emphasized power capacity and regional competitiveness rather than negotiation process.
Bottom Line
The article accurately reports that NDAs limited public access to early talks and records resident concerns about utility costs and environmental effects. It is weaker on establishing whether those practices deviated from industry norms or on balancing project benefits against those concerns with comparable data. The result is a story that surfaces local friction but leaves readers without clear benchmarks for assessing its scale.
Further Reading
Neutral Rewrite
Here's how this article reads with loaded language removed and missing context included.
Data Center Development Advances in Louisiana Amid Use of Nondisclosure Agreements
Construction has begun on a 300-acre data center campus in Boyce, Louisiana, developed by Dallas-based Applied Digital Corp. The project, named Delta Forge 1, carries an estimated $3.6 billion investment and is projected to draw 300 megawatts of electricity in its initial phase, according to state announcements. That power demand equals the average usage of roughly 200,000 homes on a summer day, based on U.S. Energy Information Administration figures. Initial operations are scheduled to start as early as mid-2027.
The development includes state sales tax incentives on equipment as part of Louisiana’s effort to attract artificial intelligence infrastructure. Once operational, the campus is expected to support more than 1,000 construction jobs and 200 permanent positions, according to statements from the England Economic and Industrial Development District.
Negotiations for the project occurred under nondisclosure agreements signed by at least five state senators, the Rapides Parish assessor, and all members of the state-created industrial development board. Documents obtained through public records requests show agreements labeled “Project Lightning” and “Project Pixel” that restricted disclosure of details during talks. Some NDAs were executed in December 2024 with Louisiana Economic Development and others in January 2025 with the local board. The board approved the project in a public meeting on April 23 with limited discussion, followed by a state press release in May.
Nondisclosure agreements have appeared in data center projects across multiple states. A survey by University of Mary Washington professor Eric Bonds and a research partner identified their use in at least 25 of 31 Virginia projects examined in 2025. Similar agreements have been reported in Arizona, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Bills to restrict or ban NDAs for data center negotiations have been introduced in Michigan, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Ohio. In August 2026, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro directed agencies under his oversight to stop using them for such projects.
In Louisiana, records requests by the Gulf States Newsroom and Type Investigations identified at least 54 NDAs signed by elected officials since Gov. Jeff Landry took office in early 2024, covering various economic development projects including data centers. University of Florida professor David Cuillier has described Louisiana’s public records environment as among the more restrictive in the country.
Local residents in Boyce, a town of about 1,000 people, have raised questions about effects on utility rates, water resources, and the surrounding environment. Beekeeper Foster Hensel, whose hives sit near the site, has cited concerns over potential changes to local conditions. At a June town hall meeting in Boyce, attendees asked for details on water consumption and power impacts. Company representatives stated that the facility will use a closed-loop cooling system designed to limit water withdrawals. An environmental study prepared by a third party was described by officials as showing negligible effects, though the full report has not been released publicly.
England Economic and Industrial Development District executive director Ralph Hennessy said the NDAs were required by Applied Digital and are standard for protecting proprietary information during negotiations. He noted that the agreements are lawful and necessary to secure projects that bring jobs and investment. Louisiana Economic Development secretary Susan Bourgeois stated that NDAs allow the state to compete for private investment by keeping preliminary discussions confidential, arguing that companies are more willing to share details under such protections.
Applied Digital CEO Wes Cummins said the company generally follows local officials’ preferences on public communication and that securities regulations are a primary reason for using NDAs during early stages. He acknowledged that the practice can appear secretive to residents.
Former Rapides Parish sheriff’s deputy Shannon McManus and other residents have stated that information about the project remained limited until after construction fencing and site work began. They have called for greater disclosure of project terms before final approvals. Officials have responded that the agreements enabled the economic development deal while complying with applicable laws.
The site lies near agricultural fields and residential areas in Rapides Parish. State incentives for the project align with broader efforts by Louisiana and neighboring states to secure data center and AI-related investment through tax and regulatory measures. Additional data centers have been announced or are under discussion in other Louisiana parishes under similar confidentiality arrangements.
Public records show the NDAs prohibited release of negotiation details to the public but did not prevent eventual announcement of the completed agreement. Construction activity, including fencing and earthmoving, is now visible at the Boyce location.
Investigation Log · 29 steps
Starting investigation...
Investigating NPR
Investigating Drew Hawkins
Searching for "NDAs data centers common practice states"
Verify if NDAs are standard in data center negotiations across US.
Source: NPR
NPR is an American nonprofit media organization that produces news, analysis, podcasts, and cultural programming with 2023 revenue totaling $318.7 million. Wikipedia documents multiple past controversies involving staff statements and coverage decisions. No quantitative bias ratings from third-party evaluators appear in the provided results.
Source: Drew Hawkins
Drew Hawkins is the public health reporter and special projects lead for the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration of public radio stations and NPR covering health care access and outcomes across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama with emphasis on social disparities. He has previously freelanced for The Guardian, Scalawag Magazine, Louisiana Illuminator, Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, and LitHub. A Louisiana native who studied creative writing, he was born in Lafayette, raised in LaPlace, and relocated to Ponchatoula after Katrina.
Searching for "Applied Digital Delta Forge 1 Boyce Louisiana data center NDAs"
Verify details of the specific project and secrecy claims.
Comparing coverage of "data center NDAs Louisiana Applied Digital"
Searching for ""Project Lightning" "Project Pixel" Louisiana data center"
Confirm code names and NDA details from records requests.
Coverage comparison completed
Framing
Article leads with resident objections and Shakespeare quote about "something rotten," framing NDAs as inherently suspicious secrecy rather than standard negotiation practice.
Creates impression of wrongdoing before presenting context that NDAs are industry norm used in 25/31 Virginia projects.
Omission
Minimizes economic benefits (200 full-time jobs, $3.6B investment, tax incentives for AI competition) while amplifying environmental concerns without data.
Skews perception toward costs over benefits; other outlets lead with job/investment numbers.
Missing Context
NDAs used in at least 25 of 31 Virginia data center projects surveyed; Microsoft announced ending NDAs with governments in 2026.
Establishes NDAs as widespread industry standard, not Louisiana-specific secrecy.
Writing analysis narrative
Writing verdict summary
Writing neutral rewrite
Investigation complete. Preparing report...
Analysis narrative ready
Neutral rewrite ready
**Investigation complete.** NPR's article frames routine NDA use in data center negotiations as suspicious secrecy by leading with resident complaints and a loaded "something rotten in Denmark" quote, while burying economic details ($3.6B investment, 200 jobs) and omitting that NDAs are standard practice (used in 25/31 Virginia projects). Other outlets emphasize jobs, permits, and compliance instead. No factual errors found, but clear selective emphasis creates a localist/environmental-skeptic slant. Verdict: **C** (Loaded Metaphor Framing).
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