The TikTok account Tigers Against Pollution (@tigers.against.pollution) brings together diverse student voices from the University of Memphis all united under one banner: creating a more environmentally friendly Memphis, Tennessee. 

In a recent video, one member of the group debunks Memphis Mayor Paul Young's guest column in local newspaper The Commercial Appeal about the Memphis xAI project.

The Memphis xAI project is run by a company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. This supercomputing facility has recently come under fire for operating gas-powered turbines without proper permitting and for releasing pollution beyond limits, the Southern Environmental Law Center reported. 

According to the Tennessee Lookout, "The supercomputer facility is located in a poor, predominantly Black Memphis community with historically high rates of pollution-related illness and disproportionate rates of industrial pollutants."

The video from Tigers Against Pollution sets out to "debunk [Mayor Young's] debunks," demonstrating that the Memphis xAI project is harmful and that the mayor is not unbiased.

@tigers.against.pollution Debunking "Mayor Paul Young's" debunks! But it's really debunking AI generated nonsense. #Memphis #memphiscommunity #memphis #climatechange #pollutionawareness #TAP #TAPin #xAI #AI #revolution ♬ No sounds 3m pagibig_ily - Chapsoy Plays 🎮

The first point of contention is around the number of turbines allowed for the supercomputing center. The speaker notes that the mayor's point about the number of permitted turbines cannot be correct because, at the time of the video, the public hearing for the permit had not even been completed.

In the second point of the guest column, the number of turbines that the facility is operating legally is presented as 21, when the mayor said that the permit allowed 15 in the prior point. The speaker calls attention to this discrepancy and shows an image from the Southern Environmental Law Center that shows 32 operational turbines.

The turbines are important because they burn dirty energy, releasing pollutants into the atmosphere that are harmful both for the climate and for the local population, as the Union of Concerned Scientists explained. 

The third and fourth claims related to the mayor's potential signing of an NDA and reasons for his support for the project, which cannot ultimately be proven or denied. 

The fifth claim involves the city's financial gain from the project. According to the mayor, the city stands to gain $12 million in tax revenue in just the first year.

Do you worry about air pollution in your town? All the time 💯 Often 😢 Only sometimes 😟 Never 😎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

The speaker for Tigers Against Pollution notes that the city's budget for this year is $900 million, according to Action News 5, which makes the $12 million seem inconsequential in light of the environmental concerns it raises. 

Those in the comments seemed to respect the work that the organization was doing.

One wrote, "Keep spreading the truth and educating."

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