Confirmed Falsehoods and Half-Truths

A running ledger of specific claims that have been checked, sourced, and evaluated. This is not opinion. Each entry is based on documented primary sources.

Claim	As Stated	Reality	Verdict
Meta Gallatin “100% solar”	Nashville Banner and widely repeated: “reportedly 100 percent solar-powered”	Grid power matched via RECs/PPAs; no on-site solar generation; TVA grid is ~half fossil fuels	Misleading
TVA “18% of power consumption”	Nashville Banner + multiple outlets, no qualifier	18% of industrial load = ~10% of total TVA load; correct comparison to national 4.4% is still double, but the denominator was wrong	Half-Truth
xAI Memphis “ACLU lawsuit”	Nashville Banner	NAACP / Southern Environmental Law Center / Earthjustice. Not the ACLU.	Incorrect
Fisk water use = “10 households”	Don Hardin, project manager	Based on closed-loop design claims; wastewater and noise impacts still being studied; no independent verification	Contested
“No zoning restrictions on data centers in Nashville”	Metro Councilmember Horton, June 2026	Accurate as of June 2, 2026. Correct and documented	Confirmed True
TVA rate class “would not include rate increases”	TVA spokesman Scott Brooks	Accurately reported, but the rate class effort subsequently stalled after board firings; the statement is technically correct but contextually incomplete	Incomplete
Cheatham County $1 compensation	TVA’s public process framing implied fair process	Federal court ordered $1 compensation for temporary property taking. Technically legal; functionally a taking for nominal consideration	Misleading Framing