In The Age of AI, It's All Propaganda All of the Time – Top 3 Takeaways – September 17th, 2026

Takeaway #1: All propaganda all of the time

If you’ve been listening to the show in recent months, you’ll know that one of my biggest concerns is that Florida, a state that has been so right on public policy for so long, has suddenly turned into a state that’s started to get it wrong on seemingly everything related to AI. It started out earlier this year innocently and appropriately enough. In March, the state legislature passed the Data Centers bill that protected Floridians from any potential negative effects related to data centers. In May, Governor DeSantis signed it into law, and in July the law took effect. My thought process at the time was that just as Florida has been a leading state for business, jobs and innovation – our state would take advantage of the protections put in place and assume our place as a leader in the development and application of AI – given that this is where the future of the economy and relevance within this world is. Yes, there were the detractors, but that’s always been the case. Take a look, for example, at the backlash directed at Florida’s education reforms – from the elimination of Common Core, to the implementation of the BEST standards, parental rights in education, and universal school choice. Each one of those moves was a heavy weight fight, but one in which the best public policy won out in the end with record setting results for student outcomes that have followed. I expected the various AI debates to be different versions of a similar thing. But I was wrong, and that’s because the anti-AI propaganda campaign has been waged on a scale that we’ve never seen within this country. That’s because it’s largely been funded by another country – China. As my recent research has shown – by May of this year Chinese interests had spent $285 million on anti-AI related campaigns (lord knows what the real-time total might be). This is because China knows what President Trump has said – “Whoever wins with AI, wins”. And China’s influencing campaign was waged in a non-partisan way radicalizing conservatives and liberals alike against AI with a bunch of lies that aren’t even possible in Florida due to our state’s recent law. But the campaign was effective, the damage was quickly done, and effectively anything to do with AI was seen as a black eye. Polling has consistently shown that about 70% of Floridians and 70% of Americans generally are against AI-anything.

Takeaway #2: This is the real-time equivalent of people having been opposed to the invention of the wheel, electricity, and the internet.

Btw, for those who don’t know their history – opposition to electricity was a major thing as interest groups and opponents called it “electric lightning” that would burn whole cities down. In fact, the opposition was so great that Virginia and Ohio nearly banned commercial electricity. That's exactly what states and communities who stand in opposition to AI are doing today and yet from Palm Beach County to all but two of Florida’s counties, that’s what we’ve seen policy makers do by rejecting data center projects and placing moratoriums in place. Subsequent to those decisions we suddenly saw manufactured outrage about AI-camera systems like Flock, that once again, as my research proved, was manufactured outrage by the Communist state of China. But with that manufactured outrage campaign, even the state joined in with the absurd ordering AI-enabled camera systems to be removed from state roads with a bunch of local lemmings across the state who’ve also followed the herd. Now the national outrage campaign is about the very topic of AI – because, in part, China would like for you to believe that we should stop working on the technology...for our own good of course. And most recently leaders at top AI companies have attempted to play into the fear to exact legislation in Washington that would serve their interests by protecting them from liability in the agentic AI age. This has only added to the anti-AI sentiment – because if they’re saying that we need to “slowdown” you know all the bad things said about AI must be real. And that takes me back to the latest related news of the day because the left-wing commie propaganda machine’s latest anti-AI effort is underway within our state, in a different part of the state that will have implications if not addressed for the entire state soon enough. Under Florida’s new law it’s up to the Florida Public Service Commission – which regulates the state’s utilities to enforce aspects of Florida’s data center law ensuring that the public isn’t on the hook for any power costs related to the development of data centers. First up this year is Duke Energy, which is the second leading supplier of power to FPL within the state. That brings us to this story from the Tampa Bay Times: How much could data centers cost Duke Energy Florida customers? It’s redacted. And the story that couldn’t be more propagandized even if written by Xi Jing Ping reads like this: Consumer advocates filed explosive new documents Tuesday in Tallahassee, alleging in a case before regulators that Duke Energy is trying to saddle Floridians with billions’ worth of increases to their bills because of data centers. There’s only one catch: The exact number is hidden from the public. Duke’s approach to data centers “leaves a dramatic, unprecedented gap— [REDACTED] — for the general body of customers to fill,” reads the filing by Florida Rising, an affordability group. “The resulting revenue shortfall works out to almost [REDACTED] per residential customer.” The lawyers made the redactions because of confidentiality requests submitted by Duke Energy, according to a footnote, which adds that Florida Rising doesn’t endorse the black-outs. Duke is the only major utility that’s submitted a plan so far, making it a test case for how Florida Power & Light and Tampa Electric might proceed. So, let me break this down succulently. In answer to the story’s headline –

Takeaway #3: How much could data centers cost customers?

The answer is zero because it’s otherwise illegal. Notice the authors’ characterization to begin the story...” consumer advocates filed explosive new documents”. Consumer advocates right...what’s the group that then is leading this – Florida Rising...and what’s Florida Rising characterized as...? Oh, it’s “an affordability group”. They think you’re stupid, and they’ve had so much success with the anti-AI propaganda in this state they’re just banking on it. Do you know what Florida Rising – defined as “consumer advocates” and “an affordability group” by the Tampa Bay Times – actually is? It’s a progressive PAC with direct funding ties to China, George Soros and Bill Gates – among others. This includes direct funding via the Chinese Progressive Association, in addition to indirect funding through other PACs that fund Florida Rising. George Soros’ Open Society Foundation is a leading funder of Florida Rising as is the Gates Foundation funneled through what’s called the “Florida Philanthropic Network”. The Tides Foundation is right there near the top of the list too. Florida Rising is a Left-wing progressive’s who’s who (in addition to direct Chinese interests) that’s being passed off as a consumer advocate and affordability group looking out for you. In the age of AI from your social media accounts to your highly dishonest news media – it's all propaganda all of the time. But I’m bringing this latest propaganda scam to you today to work to get ahead of this particular issue. Here’s how much of a scam the entire sham Duke energy story is. Do you know how many AI data centers Duke Energy services in Florida? Zero. There is no story here – but there is an opportunity to continue to propagandize and galvanize Floridians against their own interests. That’s all this is. It’s time for everyone in this state to get their heads out of the sand before we risk becoming a state that effectively bans commercial electricity.

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