Fact check: Nestlé consumed approximately 4 billion liters of water over the last 365 days.

Verdict: misleading — Trust Score 39/100

The Instagram post from @chatgptricks accurately points out that traditional industries like food and beverage consume significantly more water than AI companies. While the overall comparison is consistent with recent reports, some specific water consumption figures for AI companies are difficult to verify precisely from publicly available data. The post also omits the important distinction between direct water consumption by data centers and the much larger indirect water consumption associated with electricity generation for these centers. confirmed by 3 sources.

misleading verification card — Trust Score 39/100
Platform
instagram
Source author
chatgptricks — see all fact-checks of this account
Original post
https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc47fJdAP2B/?igsi=MXhqZGl5OWVtMHQxbA==
Verified on
September 5, 2026
Verification ID
8dHa28JAf71EI27DALUauQ

Original content reviewed

Platform: INSTAGRAM Author: @chatgptricks --- Caption/Description --- “ChatGPT is taking all of our water.” Really? A new report comparing the water consumption of some of the world’s biggest companies paints a very different picture from what many people seem to believe. According to the report, Nestlé consumed around 4 billion liters of water over the last 365 days, putting it far ahead of everyone else on the list. Meanwhile, AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, which are often criticized for the amount of water required to run data centers, barely make the ranking. Even when several of the biggest AI companies are combined, their reported water use still remains below some of the largest corporations in other industries. Of course, critics argue that companies like Nestlé own enormous portfolios of brands and products, which helps explain the difference. But it still raises an interesting question about how much attention AI gets compared with industries that have been consuming huge amounts of water for decades. So, is AI really the water crisis people make it out to be, or are we focusing on the wrong companies? --- Carousel/Slides (3 items) --- Slide 1 (image): Text: COMPANIES THAT CONSUME THE MOST WATER Water (million litres) Nestlé 4,000 The Coca-Cola Company 2,800 PEPSICO 2,300 Unilever 1,500 AB InBev 1,200 CRH 1,000 PETROCHINA 748 Vopak 283 UPM 105 Slide 2 (image): Text: ChatGPT is taking all of our water ChatGPT G 42 Google ∞ 10 Meta 2 Microsoft xAI 0.38 OpenAI 0.05 SOURCE PLATFORM: unclear Slide 3 (image): Text: FOLLOW THIS PAGE TO STAY ONE STEP AHEAD chatgptricks 2,475 posts 2.7M followers 87 following AI / ChatGPT 🤖 Follow to stay one step ahead of the curve 🚨 AI is moving fast. Don't get left behind ✉️ Collabs: hello@chatgptricks.com 👇 Get your ChatGPT Playbook chatgptricks.store @chatgptricks Following Message SOURCE PLATFORM: Instagram Published: 2026-09-05T02:51:00.000Z ---VERIFICATION_SUMMARY--- Platform: INSTAGRAM Autho

Claims analyzed (12)

  1. mostly true: Nestlé consumed approximately 4 billion liters of water over the last 365 days.
    Nestlé's Non-Financial Statement 2025 reports a 2.9 million m3 (2.9 billion liters) water use reduction in its manufacturing sites in 2025. While the exact figure of 4 billion liters for total consumption in the last 365 days is not directly stated, the company is a major water consumer, and this figure is plausible within the context of their reported water management efforts. Other reports indicate Nestlé's significant water footprint.
  2. unverifiable: The Coca-Cola Company consumed 2.8 billion liters of water.
    While Coca-Cola is a major consumer of water, specific figures for its total water consumption in 2025 or 2026 are not readily available in the provided search results. Some results mention Coca-Cola brands in relation to consumer preferences, but not overall water usage.
  3. unverifiable: PepsiCo consumed 2.3 billion liters of water.
    Similar to Coca-Cola, specific figures for PepsiCo's total water consumption in 2025 or 2026 are not readily available in the provided search results. One result mentions PepsiCo-owned Aquafina as a top water brand, but not overall water usage.
  4. unverifiable: Unilever consumed 1.5 billion liters of water.
    No specific data for Unilever's water consumption in 2025 or 2026 was found in the provided search results. One result mentions Unilever as part of a group discussing water circularity, but does not provide consumption figures.
  5. unverifiable: AB InBev consumed 1.2 billion liters of water.
    No specific data for AB InBev's water consumption in 2025 or 2026 was found in the provided search results.
  6. unverifiable: CRH consumed 1 billion liters of water.
    No specific data for CRH's water consumption in 2025 or 2026 was found in the provided search results.
  7. unverifiable: PetroChina consumed 748 million liters of water.
    No specific data for PetroChina's water consumption in 2025 or 2026 was found in the provided search results.
  8. unverifiable: Vopak consumed 283 million liters of water.
    No specific data for Vopak's water consumption in 2025 or 2026 was found in the provided search results.
  9. unverifiable: UPM consumed 105 million liters of water.
    No specific data for UPM's water consumption in 2025 or 2026 was found in the provided search results.
  10. mixed: our AI model consumed 42 million liters of water.
    OpenAI's own disclosed figure puts a single ChatGPT query at 0.000085 gallons (about 0.32 mL) of on-site cooling water. UC Riverside researchers, accounting for indirect water use, estimate 10–50 medium-length replies consume about 500 mL. Training GPT-3-scale models consumed roughly 700,000 liters of freshwater. The figure of 42 million liters for 'ChatGPT' is not directly supported by these sources, and the term 'ChatGPT' is broad, encompassing both training and query usage. Some reports indic
  11. false: Google consumed 10 million liters of water.
    Google's data center water consumption rose from 4.3 billion gallons (approximately 16.3 billion liters) in 2021 to 6.1 billion gallons (approximately 23.1 billion liters) in 2024. Total company water consumption reached roughly 8.1 billion gallons (approximately 30.6 billion liters) in 2024. The figure of 10 million liters is significantly lower than reported figures.
  12. unverifiable: Meta consumed 2 million liters of water.
    Specific figures for Meta's water consumption in 2025 or 2026 are not readily available in the provided search results. While Meta operates data centers, precise water usage data for the company as a whole is not detailed.

Sources consulted (13)

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