In spring 2026, numerous Facebook users shared images purportedly showing water towers all over the U.S. featuring the same text criticizing artificial intelligence data centers. The message simply read, "YOU CAN'T DRINK DATA."
For example, one page posted an image (archived) of such a water tower seemingly in Georgia. The image also includes a "Welcome to Georgia" sign and what appears to be the skyline of downtown Atlanta. The post's caption reads, in part:
A message on a Georgia water tower is getting people talking.
The message reads:
"YOU CAN'T DRINK DATA."
As communities across Georgia continue discussing growth, development, infrastructure, water resources, and the future of the Peach State, the message is serving as a reminder of something many Georgians already know:
Water is one of Georgia's most valuable resources.
[ ... ]
Whether people agree with the message or not, one thing is certain:
Drivers passing by aren't ignoring it.
Water towers with the same text were purportedly spotted in Arizona, California, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri and South Carolina. Snopes readers also emailed us to ask if the images are real, including one person who referenced another image set in Virginia.
In short, the images were generated using artificial intelligence software, contradicting the messaging of the posts themselves. Therefore, we have rated them fake.
While it is possible that the erection of towers carrying such a message could go unnoticed by mainstream news media coverage, Google searches for any evidence of them popping up across the country returned no credible reports. For example, searching for "you can't drink data" and "you can't drink data water towers" returned no relevant results. Instead, the searches showed links to more, similar Facebook posts, some of which had been deleted.
The posts themselves, along with the pages sharing them, contain more evidence the images are fabricated. For example, the post about the Arizona water tower and a second post about a Massachusetts water tower both end with the text, "Satire/Fun Concept – created for social media storytelling."
The page that posted the second Massachusetts water tower, Massachusetts Life, also posted the other Massachusetts water tower that had the same "YOU CAN'T DRINK DATA" text written on it.
Massachusetts Life follows the same naming style as the other pages posting images of the anti-data center water towers. For example, pages such as Life in Iowa, Life in Georgia, Life in Michigan, Life in California and South Carolina life all posted the fake images. These pages post similar content, much of which is AI-generated.
Some of these accounts wrote nearly identical captions, changing only the state name. For example, Life in California wrote:
BREAKING: A giant message has appeared on a California water tower, impossible to miss for anyone passing by.
The message reads: "YOU CAN'T DRINK DATA."
As data centers continue expanding across California, concerns are growing about the enormous amounts of water and energy these facilities consume.
Likewise, Life in Michigan wrote:
BREAKING: A giant message has appeared on a Michigan water tower, impossible to miss for anyone passing by.
The message reads: "YOU CAN'T DRINK DATA."
As data centers continue expanding across Michigan and the Great Lakes region, concerns are growing about the enormous amounts of water and energy these facilities consume.
There are also numerous indicators the images themselves are fake.
For example, the Iowa water tower sits in the middle of a road. Then, behind the Georgia water tower, the state's gold-domed capitol building and Atlanta's ferris wheel appear outside of the city's downtown, even though both structures are located downtown. Finally, the particular view of downtown Detroit from the Michigan water tower could, in reality, only be seen from Canada; therefore, it would unlikely feature the word "Michigan" if it were real.
