Nick Hune-Brown
@nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Toronto magazine writer and executive editor @thelocal.to. Here for smart long-form articles and dumb basketball posts. Email nick@thelocal.to
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
It's that time of year again, when The Local staff gather round the figurative fireplace and look back on a year in publishing. From election after election, to wildlife reporting, to some standout office snacks, take a look at the Local's Year in Review: thelocal.to/2025-year-in...
The Local’s 2025 Year in Review | The Local
At this reflective time of year, we gather around the flickering warmth of The Local Slack channel to discuss the year that was.
thelocal.to
December 19, 2025 at 1:45 PM
It's that time of year again, when The Local staff gather round the figurative fireplace and look back on a year in publishing. From election after election, to wildlife reporting, to some standout office snacks, take a look at the Local's Year in Review: thelocal.to/2025-year-in...
Great to see my investigation into "Victoria Goldiee" make this New Yorker list (one slot ahead of the Ryan Lizza chronicles). www.newyorker.com/news/fault-l...
Five Things That Changed the Media in 2025
A.I., of course—but there were also other, less obvious stories and trends that are going to shape how we understand the news.
www.newyorker.com
December 16, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Great to see my investigation into "Victoria Goldiee" make this New Yorker list (one slot ahead of the Ryan Lizza chronicles). www.newyorker.com/news/fault-l...
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
concluding that people don't need their newspapers to be accurate is professional self-harm done for no particular reason other than to justify layoffs and satisfy the AI lords
New: When the Washington Post ran tests on its AI personalized podcasts, the paper found that between 68% and 84% (!!) of the pods had potential issues.
Still, the paper decided to release the product anyway, saying it would “iterate through the remaining issues”
www.semafor.com/article/12/1...
Still, the paper decided to release the product anyway, saying it would “iterate through the remaining issues”
www.semafor.com/article/12/1...
December 15, 2025 at 2:26 PM
concluding that people don't need their newspapers to be accurate is professional self-harm done for no particular reason other than to justify layoffs and satisfy the AI lords
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
Was glad to participate in @niemanstoryboard.org's year-end best of package! I picked stories from @defector.com / @laurentheisen.bsky.social and @thelocal.to / @nickhunebrown.bsky.social.
Nieman Storyboard Best of 2025: Your favorite stories of the year (Part 1) - Nieman Storyboard
We asked, you answered — here are some of your favorite stories, books, and podcasts
niemanstoryboard.org
December 12, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Was glad to participate in @niemanstoryboard.org's year-end best of package! I picked stories from @defector.com / @laurentheisen.bsky.social and @thelocal.to / @nickhunebrown.bsky.social.
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
"Horse racing was once the only form of legal gambling. The story of the sport’s decline is, among other things, the story of an industry losing its monopoly power..." I'm late to this tough but very good @nickhunebrown.bsky.social about the state of horse racing in Ontario. (CW horse deaths.)
Breakdown at the Racetrack | The Local
Once a lucrative gambling business, Ontario's horse racing industry is now heavily subsidized by the government. As gamblers turn to online gaming, and ideas about animal welfare shift, a cluster of f...
thelocal.to
December 10, 2025 at 7:37 PM
"Horse racing was once the only form of legal gambling. The story of the sport’s decline is, among other things, the story of an industry losing its monopoly power..." I'm late to this tough but very good @nickhunebrown.bsky.social about the state of horse racing in Ontario. (CW horse deaths.)
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
News today about the Ontario Science Centre: Its "temporary location" will take over most, or possibly all, of Harbourfront Centre.
86,000 square feet is a larger fraction, if not all, of Harbourfront's buildings.
news.ontario.ca/en/release/1...
86,000 square feet is a larger fraction, if not all, of Harbourfront's buildings.
news.ontario.ca/en/release/1...
Ontario Newsroom
news.ontario.ca
December 10, 2025 at 9:47 PM
News today about the Ontario Science Centre: Its "temporary location" will take over most, or possibly all, of Harbourfront Centre.
86,000 square feet is a larger fraction, if not all, of Harbourfront's buildings.
news.ontario.ca/en/release/1...
86,000 square feet is a larger fraction, if not all, of Harbourfront's buildings.
news.ontario.ca/en/release/1...
So hard to find the font that best expresses my specific political ideology.
December 10, 2025 at 3:19 PM
So hard to find the font that best expresses my specific political ideology.
"In 2025, powerful people, companies, and institutions welcomed fakeness and deception like never before"
I've been investigating digital deception for ~15yrs and 2025 was the worst year.
VC-backed bot farms, endless AI slop, industrial level scams, abusive AI nudifiers, Meta paying $ for hoaxes... Deception was legitimized, monetized & shoved down the public’s throat:
indicator.media/p/2025-the-y...
VC-backed bot farms, endless AI slop, industrial level scams, abusive AI nudifiers, Meta paying $ for hoaxes... Deception was legitimized, monetized & shoved down the public’s throat:
indicator.media/p/2025-the-y...
2025: The year tech embraced fakeness
This year, powerful people, companies, and institutions welcomed digital deception like never before. The rest of us faced the consequences.
indicator.media
December 9, 2025 at 4:00 PM
"In 2025, powerful people, companies, and institutions welcomed fakeness and deception like never before"
Two years ago, @thelocal.to did an issue on how this long-awaited transit line promised to transform northwest Toronto. Yesterday, @royinori.bsky.social and photographer Duane Cole rode the line with locals to try to find out if the LRT can keep up with its promises. thelocal.to/finch-west-l...
Can the Finch West LRT Keep Up With Its Promises? | The Local
After years of delay, Line 6 is now running across a historically isolated part of the city. At its launch, politicians posed, transit enthusiasts assembled, and some locals wondered if it was worth t...
thelocal.to
December 8, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Two years ago, @thelocal.to did an issue on how this long-awaited transit line promised to transform northwest Toronto. Yesterday, @royinori.bsky.social and photographer Duane Cole rode the line with locals to try to find out if the LRT can keep up with its promises. thelocal.to/finch-west-l...
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
Guess where The Local is today!
December 7, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Guess where The Local is today!
Big milestone in Toronto transit history: the first Line 6 delay notification
Line 6 Finch West: Delays westbound at Finch West station while we deal with an operational problem.
December 7, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Big milestone in Toronto transit history: the first Line 6 delay notification
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
“We don’t have enough social care, we don’t have enough supportive housing, and we have a lot of people under a lot of stress... So who is going to have to deal with that? At the moment it looks like the TTC."
On the TTC, With Nowhere to Go | The Local
With rising homelessness, decreased mental health support, and fewer public spaces than ever, the TTC and its workers are being asked to fill gaps in a dissolving social safety net.
thelocal.to
December 5, 2025 at 3:31 PM
“We don’t have enough social care, we don’t have enough supportive housing, and we have a lot of people under a lot of stress... So who is going to have to deal with that? At the moment it looks like the TTC."
Three horses euthanized at Woodbine last weekend. www.thestar.com/news/gta/thr.... A reminder that this industry is wholly dependent on government subsidy. thelocal.to/breakdown-at...
Breakdown at the Racetrack | The Local
Once a lucrative gambling business, Ontario's horse racing industry is now heavily subsidized by the government. As gamblers turn to online gaming, and ideas about animal welfare shift, a cluster of f...
thelocal.to
December 5, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Three horses euthanized at Woodbine last weekend. www.thestar.com/news/gta/thr.... A reminder that this industry is wholly dependent on government subsidy. thelocal.to/breakdown-at...
Great story from @curiouslana.bsky.social. “We don’t have enough social care, we don’t have enough supportive housing, and we have a lot of people under a lot of stress... So who is going to have to deal with that? At the moment it looks like the TTC." thelocal.to/ttc-mental-h...
On the TTC, With Nowhere to Go | The Local
With rising homelessness, decreased mental health support, and fewer public spaces than ever, the TTC and its workers are being asked to fill gaps in a dissolving social safety net.
thelocal.to
December 5, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Great story from @curiouslana.bsky.social. “We don’t have enough social care, we don’t have enough supportive housing, and we have a lot of people under a lot of stress... So who is going to have to deal with that? At the moment it looks like the TTC." thelocal.to/ttc-mental-h...
Since publishing our investigation into "Victoria Goldiee" at @thelocal.to, I've heard from editors from around the world who've had their own run-ins. A quick follow-up, plus a conversation with @cstarnino.bsky.social about journalism in a world of AI fakery. thelocal.to/fallout-from...
The Fallout From Our AI Freelancer Investigation | The Local
A conversation about the future of journalism in a world of “Victoria Goldiees.”
thelocal.to
November 29, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Since publishing our investigation into "Victoria Goldiee" at @thelocal.to, I've heard from editors from around the world who've had their own run-ins. A quick follow-up, plus a conversation with @cstarnino.bsky.social about journalism in a world of AI fakery. thelocal.to/fallout-from...
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
Jack White is the king of “indie dudes love sports too” representation matters baby
November 27, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Jack White is the king of “indie dudes love sports too” representation matters baby
I spoke to @thewalrus.ca EIC Carmine Starnino about Victoria Goldiee, fake reporters, and what the hell journalists are supposed to do in this AI slop era. thewalrus.ca/the-phantom-...
The Phantom Writer Who Fooled the Internet | The Walrus
The bot-assisted fake journalism of “Victoria Goldiee” and why editors should be very worried
thewalrus.ca
November 25, 2025 at 9:03 PM
I spoke to @thewalrus.ca EIC Carmine Starnino about Victoria Goldiee, fake reporters, and what the hell journalists are supposed to do in this AI slop era. thewalrus.ca/the-phantom-...
Genuine question, cuz this isn't my beat, but what do the AI overlords say is the SECOND step, once recipe makers, journalists, product reviewers, etc, stop doing the work because all their traffic is stolen by crappy AI summaries?
NEW: AI “recipe slop” is overrunning search and social. Food creators say Google’s AI Overviews and glossy fake food pics are drowning out real, tested recipes — collapsing traffic and setting home cooks up for disaster, especially this Thanksgiving.
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
AI Slop Recipes Are Taking Over the Internet -- And Thanksgiving Dinner
Food bloggers see traffic dip as home cooks turn to AI, inspired by impossible pictures
www.bloomberg.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Genuine question, cuz this isn't my beat, but what do the AI overlords say is the SECOND step, once recipe makers, journalists, product reviewers, etc, stop doing the work because all their traffic is stolen by crappy AI summaries?
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
“Freelance journalism in 2025 is an incredibly difficult place to build a career,” Nicholas Hune-Brown writes. “But, it turns out, it’s a decent enough arena for a scam.” @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's favorite this week thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 23, 2025 at 3:48 PM
“Freelance journalism in 2025 is an incredibly difficult place to build a career,” Nicholas Hune-Brown writes. “But, it turns out, it’s a decent enough arena for a scam.” @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's favorite this week thelocal.to/investigatin...
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
Advocates have long struggled to improve special education at the TDSB. But now that the board is under supervision, they’re finding transparency and accountability are disappearing. New from @wencyleung.bsky.social:
thelocal.to/tdsb-special...
thelocal.to/tdsb-special...
Special Education Policy Vs. Practice at the TDSB | The Local
For years, the TDSB's special education advisory committee has pressed for accountability from the board. Since the province's takeover, that's become harder than ever.
thelocal.to
November 21, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Advocates have long struggled to improve special education at the TDSB. But now that the board is under supervision, they’re finding transparency and accountability are disappearing. New from @wencyleung.bsky.social:
thelocal.to/tdsb-special...
thelocal.to/tdsb-special...
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
Well put by @drrachelbarr.bsky.social
November 19, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Well put by @drrachelbarr.bsky.social
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
"Every media era gets the fabulists it deserves... this generation’s internet scammers are scavenging in the wreckage of a degraded media environment." Oof, this bleakly fascinating story from @nickhunebrown.bsky.social is today's media industry must-read, and with a hell of a kicker:
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 19, 2025 at 10:18 PM
"Every media era gets the fabulists it deserves... this generation’s internet scammers are scavenging in the wreckage of a degraded media environment." Oof, this bleakly fascinating story from @nickhunebrown.bsky.social is today's media industry must-read, and with a hell of a kicker:
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
"Every media era gets the fabulists it deserves." This
@nickhunebrown.bsky.social
piece about journalism grifters in the age of AI slop is fantastic, bonkers & sad on so many levels thelocal.to/investigatin...
@nickhunebrown.bsky.social
piece about journalism grifters in the age of AI slop is fantastic, bonkers & sad on so many levels thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 19, 2025 at 2:59 PM
"Every media era gets the fabulists it deserves." This
@nickhunebrown.bsky.social
piece about journalism grifters in the age of AI slop is fantastic, bonkers & sad on so many levels thelocal.to/investigatin...
@nickhunebrown.bsky.social
piece about journalism grifters in the age of AI slop is fantastic, bonkers & sad on so many levels thelocal.to/investigatin...
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
This is a wild ride, from surprise to anger to sadness. Fantastic storytelling about storytelling.
A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 19, 2025 at 2:19 PM
This is a wild ride, from surprise to anger to sadness. Fantastic storytelling about storytelling.
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
"Every media era gets the fabulists it deserves." Brilliant essay/investigation by @nickhunebrown.bsky.social into journalism scammers in the age of AI.
thelocal.to/investigatin...
thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 19, 2025 at 2:00 PM
"Every media era gets the fabulists it deserves." Brilliant essay/investigation by @nickhunebrown.bsky.social into journalism scammers in the age of AI.
thelocal.to/investigatin...
thelocal.to/investigatin...