Cathedral City Construction Company Targeted by Online Misinformation After Vandalism

A local construction company dealing with vandalism at one of its job sites is now facing another challenge: what the owner says are false claims spreading online.

Sky Construction owner Mario Cernik says social media posts falsely accusing the company of building a massive data center in Cathedral City have resulted in harassment, threatening messages, and concerns for his family’s safety.

The controversy involves more than 100 acres of undeveloped land along Rio Vista Drive, the same property where Sky Construction equipment was vandalized in April.

Cernik says someone took an original video of the vandalism incident and reposted it online with false claims that the company’s equipment was targeted because it was being used to build a data center.

The posts gained significant attention, receiving thousands of likes and comments, including messages threatening the company.

Cernik says the claims are false.

“We’re not building a data center,” he said, adding that misinformation has led to him being personally targeted online.

Sky Construction says the actual work being done at the site involves grading for housing pads as part of a planned residential subdivision.

Cathedral City officials confirmed there are no data center projects under consideration in the city and said the grading work is connected to a future residential development in the north end of the city.

Following the earlier vandalism, Cernik says the company has added security measures at the job site. He says his biggest concern now is protecting his family and addressing how quickly false information can spread online.