In 2024, climate activists in New York City protested alongside anti-Israel protesters at a rally headlined «Climate Justice Means Free Palestine.» Last year, climate change celebrity icon Greta Thunberg tried to storm Israel by sea on a flotilla protesting the country’s war in Gaza, yelling «Free! Free! Palestine!» when she was refused entry.

And, last week, activists from CodePink, a far-left feminist activist group that has received funds from an American expatriate, Neville Roy Singham, living in Shanghai, took a break from their rallies supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Cuba Communist Party to circulate a video on Instagram, attacking a Utah data center project backed by investor Kevin O’Leary.

What connects these causes?

Climate activists, anti-Israel protesters and other activist movements with very different agendas have become strange bedfellows united by a shared disdain for America and funding from China, according to experts who warn the trend is weakening the United States amid a rapidly accelerating AI race.

Critics say the same activist ecosystem is now targeting America’s AI infrastructure and industrial power, in a development that experts warn could undermine the United States in its technological competition with China.

The growing convergence increasingly includes communist and Islamist activist movements, and it recently extended into campaigns targeting America’s artificial intelligence data centers, with activist and environmental groups helping delay or block dozens of such projects worth billions of dollars over concerns about energy use, water consumption and environmental impact amid rising power demand.

Fox News Digital has observed many of the movements protesting side-by-side at demonstrations across the country despite their otherwise stark ideological differences.

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«What all of these protests have in common — the protests against AI data centers or the environmental protests or the protest against Israel — is that anti-American trend within them,» Hudson Institute fellow Zineb Riboua told Fox News Digital.

«Climate change was also one of those very trendy causes to protest for or against, and now there’s always this quest to find what is the next thing to revolutionize,» Riboua added. «And this revolution against the United States is always welcome, no matter what type of forms and shapes it takes.»

Same network, new issue

Fox News Digital has previously reported that Singham, a U.S.-born tech tycoon living in Shanghai, funneled roughly $285 million into six activist nonprofits accused by lawmakers and analysts of promoting pro-China narratives and anti-American protest movements.

O’Leary accused local groups opposing the Utah project of being tied to China-linked funding networks and argued the backlash reflected a broader nationwide trend of activist campaigns targeting AI infrastructure, though Fox News Digital has not independently verified the Utah-related allegations.

Protesters react as the Box Elder County Commission approves a large AI data center project in Tremonton, Utah, on May 4, 2026. Activists opposed the proposed 40,000-acre development over concerns about water use, energy demand and environmental impact. (Natalie Behring/Getty Images)

‘Red-green-green alliance’

Riboua, who specializes in anti-West ideological movements and China’s influence in the Middle East, warned that the overlap between climate activists, anti-Israel protesters, communists and Islamists is being driven by a broader anti-American worldview she described as «Third Worldism,» an ideology that divides the world into «oppressors» and «oppressed» and casts the United States and the West as the primary source of global problems.

The ideology unites otherwise unrelated activist causes under a shared anti-Western framework, she said.

«Third Worldism drives anti-Americanism because the goal of Third Worldism is basically dismantling a cohesive Western society or Western country,» Riboua said.

WATCH: Expert warns ‘red-green-green alliance’ helping China gain AI edge

Energy expert Brenda Shaffer, a research faculty member at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, described the broader activist convergence as part of a «red-green-green alliance,» an ideological overlap between three elements: communist movements, characterized by the color red; Islamist activism, described as green; and environmental protest groups, symbolized as green.

They increasingly unite around anti-West and anti-American causes, she said.

Riboua said the alliance has become increasingly visible as activist groups move rapidly from one issue to another — from climate protests to anti-Israel demonstrations and now toward campaigns targeting AI infrastructure and data centers.

The overlap has also become increasingly visible on the streets. At a 2024 «Climate Justice Means Free Palestine» rally in New York City, climate activists and pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested side-by-side.

«There’s always this quest to find what is the next thing to revolutionize,» she said.

People participate in a «Climate Justice Means Free Palestine» rally outside Citibank headquarters in New York City on June 18, 2024. Protesters carried pro-Palestinian signs and climate justice messaging during the demonstration. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Riboua pointed to Thunberg’s evolution into a vocal anti-Israel activist as an example of the growing ideological overlap between climate activism and broader anti-West protest movements.

«Greta is not an Islamist, and I think that she never read Karl Marx, but she has all the good instincts of a revolutionary against the evil oppressor, Westerner, and the United States,» Riboua said.

China, energy and the AI race

Shaffer warned the growing convergence is increasingly affecting industries critical to America’s economic and technological competition with China.

«Energy is crucial to the AI race, to the data centers,» Shaffer told Fox News Digital via a Zoom interview.

Shaffer argued that while activist groups in the West target fossil fuels, AI infrastructure and industrial development, China continues rapidly expanding coal production, manufacturing capacity and energy generation.

«So we’re truly by adopting international climate policies, we’re weakening the West,» Shaffer said.

«China really benefits from these policies that we adopt and we just let them keep forging ahead with coal.»

Shaffer compared the trend to Soviet-backed anti-nuclear activism during the Cold War, arguing that adversarial powers have historically benefited from anti-energy movements in the West.

Racks of servers with colorful wires are seen in a data center as AI expansion strains the power grid, prompting a proposal for tech firms to fund their own energy needs. (Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images)

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«You saw traditionally the Soviet Union funding movements against nuclear energy in Europe so that Europe would remain dependent on Soviet and later Russian gas,» Shaffer said.

She also warned that increasing Western dependence on Chinese renewable-energy supply chains could create new strategic vulnerabilities because China dominates major parts of the global solar and inverter market.

Shaffer argued many activist campaigns focus on delaying or blocking energy and infrastructure projects in the United States while China rapidly expands coal consumption and industrial production.

Riboua added that many ordinary protesters are not necessarily driven by ideology, but by simplified narratives amplified through social media clickbait and activist messaging.

«Some people are generally good people and they want to have a moral position,» she said. «They know headlines … there’s a lot of ignorance.»

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Shaffer warned that artificial intelligence infrastructure requires enormous amounts of reliable electricity and said the West risks falling behind China if energy costs continue rising and infrastructure projects continue facing activist opposition.

«You can’t have an arms industry built on solar energy,» she said.

GOP lawmakers brushed aside concerns over President Donald Trump targeting GOP incumbents after Rep. Thomas Massie’s, R-Ky., loss, as several Republicans stressed the need for unity to advance the Republican agenda.

Massie lost to congressional candidate Ed Gallrein in Kentucky’s Republican primary last week after months of escalating attacks from Trump, who publicly criticized the Kentucky Republican over repeated breaks with the president and opposition to parts of the GOP agenda.

«Primaries happen,» Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. «We move through that, but it’s back to the business of the American people, so you know, my hope is that everybody just gets focused on that.»

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Massie had long been one of the most outspoken Republican critics of parts of Trump’s agenda in Congress, drawing repeated attacks from the president over spending fights and other legislative disputes. Trump intensified his criticism of Massie in the months leading up to the primary, backing efforts to oust him from Congress.

The stakes are particularly high for Republicans as the party works to maintain its slim House majority over Democrats while navigating internal divisions over Trump’s agenda and political influence.

Despite speculation that Trump’s strategy of targeting GOP incumbents could be harmful to the party, many lawmakers stood by Trump’s decision to make his personal endorsements as he sees fit. 

«I think Trump is going to be Trump, and not everybody’s going to agree with what he does,» Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, said. «The fact is that he’s been incredibly effective.»

«He gets to endorse who he wants to endorse,» Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said. 

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President Donald Trump arrives at the commencement ceremony on Cadet Memorial Field at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., on May 20, 2026. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Still, some Republicans acknowledged Trump’s aggressive involvement in primaries could create complications inside the conference, particularly for members no longer worried about reelection.

«It’s not lost on a lot of people, I think, that the reason that the president doesn’t like those members could be… they can get the last laugh if you will as they are untethered now to reelection.»

Others emphasized that with Republicans operating under narrow margins in the House, lawmakers have little room for prolonged battles within the party as leadership works to move Trump-backed legislation through Congress.

«We have a tight bracket that we have to, every week, fulfill,» Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said. «And as we move through primaries, as we move towards the election, we need the team. We need members to show up.»

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Rep. Pete Sessions, co-chair of the Congressional DOGE Caucus, speaks during a session. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

Republicans also stressed the importance of gearing up both voters and members of Congress to be aligned ahead of the midterms as the party works to defend its narrow House majority in November.

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«Ultimately, that’s up to the voters in those states and districts as to who wins these primaries and it’s up every member to make sure they win,» Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said.

«As far as the rest of the Congress, look, we have a lot of work to do on behalf of the American people. And unless you suddenly change your view on these issues, one would think you would still represent your district and state appropriately.»

La capital de Ucrania, Kiev, comenzó su domingo, en hora local, bombardeada con misiles balísticos y drones lanzados por Rusia y causaron al menos dos muertes y más de 40 heridos. Se trata de una escalada en el conflicto entre ambos países, luego de que Ucrania atacara horas antes una ciudad ocupada por los rusos y de que incluso Washington advirtiera sobre una respuesta contundente por parte del Kremlin.

«El balance de muertos del ataque enemigo sobre la capital ha subido ha dos», informó el alcalde de la capital ucraniana, Vitali Klichkó en su cuenta de Telegram. Antes, en esa misma cuenta, Klichkó calificó de «noche terrible para Kiev» este ataque, en el que dijo, se registraron 44 heridos.

«Los médicos han hospitalizado a 28 heridos, entre los que se encuentran dos niños (en estado de gravedad media). Tres de los heridos se encuentran en estado grave», precisó el alcalde.

Según el medio ucraniano The Kyiv Independent, que citó grupos en Internet dedicados a la observación y análisis del conflicto, Rusia usó en este ataque medio centenar de misiles y hasta 700 drones contra suelo Ucraniano, pero la capital del país fue el principal objetivo de «uno de los mayores ataques del último año».

Tras la alerta aérea emitida por las autoridades, se reportaron explosiones en distintos puntos de Kiev a primera hora de la madrugada. Las autoridades ucranianas advirtieron a la población por distintos canales, como fue el caso del jefe de la administración militar de Kiev, Timur Tkatchenko, quien difundió por Telegram: «La capital es el objetivo de un ataque masivo de misiles balísticos. Es posibles que se produzcan nuevos disparos. ¡Permanezcan en los refugios!».

Según los reportes preliminares, fueron alcanzados los distritos de Obolonskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Holosiivskyi, Solomianskyi, Desnianskyi, Darnytskyi, Dniprovskyi y Podil de Kiev. El alcalde de la ciudad capital, Vitali Klitschkó, informó a través de Telegram que los primeros ataques dejaron tres heridos. Luego del ataque, se activó una alerta aérea en toda Ucrania.

A primera hora de la mañana hubo una segunda ronda de ataques, según informó AFP. Para entonces, la cuenta de heridos ya llegaba a 10, informó The Kyiv Independent.

Se trata de una escalada en el conflicto entre Rusia y Ucrania que sobrevino luego del ataque de las fuerzas ucranianas a la ciudad de Starobilsk, en la región de Lugansk (este de Ucrania, aunque una zona rusoparlante), ocupada por las fuerzas rusas desde hace meses. El saldo del ataque ucraniano fue de 18 muertos y 42 heridos, aunque las autoridades de la ocupación rusa señalan que otras tres personas pueden haber sido aplastadas por los escombros de los edificios derribados, y cuyas muertes aún no fueron confirmadas.

Según las autoridades ucranianas, el ataque en Starobilsk había sido apuntado a altos mandos militares de la unidad militar de drones que Rusia tiene en la ciudad. El presidente Vladímir Putin dijo que «no hay instalaciones militares, instalaciones de servicios de inteligencia ni servicios relacionados en las inmediaciones» del lugar del ataque.

Our intelligence services reported receiving data, including from American and European partners, about Russia preparing a strike with the Oreshnik missile. We are verifying this information.

We are seeing signs of preparation for a combined strike on Ukrainian territory,…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 23, 2026

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Sin embargo, por el ataque ucraniano Washington advirtió este mismo sábado a las autoridades militares de Ucrania respecto de la posibilidad de un ataque masivo como represalia. «La embajada de Estados Unidos en Kiev ha recibido información sobre un posible ataque aéreo de gran magnitud que podría ocurrir en cualquier momento durante las próximas 24 horas», señaló un comunicado de las autoridades estadounidenses en ese país.

De acuerdo a la inteligencia militar estadounidense en la zona, el ataque con drones iba a tener como objetivo las regiones de Kiev y Chernígov, en un intento de recuperar la iniciativa en la guerra, ante el estancamiento de los avances rusos en los frentes este y sur del país. Además, Ucrania temía en los últimos días un avance desde Bielorrusia.

El propio Volodímir Zelenski hizo eco de esa advertencia este mismo sábado, y escribió en sus redes: «Nuestros servicios de inteligencia informaron haber recibido datos, incluidos de socios estadounidenses y europeos, sobre Rusia preparando un ataque con el misil Oreshnik. Estamos verificando esta información».

«Estamos viendo señales de preparación para un ataque combinado en territorio ucraniano, incluida Kiev, que involucra varios tipos de armamento. Las armas de alcance intermedio especificadas podrían usarse en un ataque de este tipo. Es importante actuar con responsabilidad ante las alertas de ataque aéreo, a partir de esta noche. La locura rusa verdaderamente no conoce límites, así que por favor protejan sus vidas: usen los refugios», amplió el presidente ucraniano.