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Rory White

@rorywh.bsky.social

210 followers 170 following 18 posts

Technology and Democracy Reporter at Canada's National Observer. from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (Got a tip? Signal: rwhite.12)

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Rory White @rorywh.bsky.social · Feb 24

I called five different numbers. Every single one led to the same man’s voicemail. My first investigative piece is out in Canada’s National Observer—uncovering a hidden fossil fuel ad network.

Mapping the dark-money oil and gas ads targeting a small Ontario town

Dark money is paying for oil and gas ads on shadowy Facebook pages, all coordinated by a PR firm with oil and gas — and Conservative Party — connections. How did a small town in Southern Ontario find ...

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) @cajournalists.bsky.social · 10h

This is an incredible tool built by @nationalobserver.com that will help foster enhanced transparency at the local level.

All CAJ members can join Civic Searchlight....NOW!

A big thanks to @jameswsthomson.com for this. Contact him ASAP! HT to @rorywh.bsky.social @davidmckie.bsky.social and team

Jimmy Thomson @jameswsthomson.com · 6d

Today, @nationalobserver.com is launching a tool to search municipal meeting transcripts across Canada. The tool has already helped us unearth a climate denial network targeting towns and cities, report on AI data centers, measure our impact and more.

Journalists and researchers, sign up for free!

Canada’s National Observer unveils a powerful tool for fighting disinformation

Civic Searchlight brings together municipal meeting transcripts from across Canada into a searchable database for the first time. It has already been used to fight disinformation, report on impact, di...

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

John Woodside @woodsideful.bsky.social · 5d

Enbridge execs have been boasting to shareholders they plan to return $40-$45 billion to them over the next five years supported by gas expansions across the continent. Ontario in particular is a cash cow where they have an opportunity to "over earn."
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/09/a...

Enbridge investors to get billions as gas giant expands into small-town Ontario

Enbridge executives know Ontario ratepayers are a cash cow for its gas business, and in recent calls with investors they said they plan to milk it for all its worth.

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

Sonal Gupta @sonalg.bsky.social · 5d

@nationalobserver.com launched a great resource to help journalists and citizens hold councils accountable! Kudos to @jameswsthomson.com @davidmckie.bsky.social @rorywh.bsky.social!!

Canada’s National Observer unveils a powerful tool for fighting disinformation

Civic Searchlight brings together municipal meeting transcripts from across Canada into a searchable database for the first time. It has already been used to fight disinformation, report on impact, di...

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

Justin Crann @jcrann.bsky.social · 5d

This new tool is the sort of thing I would have loved to get my hands on when I was a community news reporter more than a decade ago. Kudos to @rorywh.bsky.social and the CNO team for their hard work on this asset, and to the publication for releasing it freely to journalists and researchers.

Canada’s National Observer unveils a powerful tool for fighting disinformation

Civic Searchlight brings together municipal meeting transcripts from across Canada into a searchable database for the first time. It has already been used to fight disinformation, report on impact, di...

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

Dave Thompson 🇨🇦 @davethompsonvic.bsky.social · 6d

Disinformation about municipal policy and politics is increasing sharply. I see it literally every day.

It's misdirecting people, and making them unhappy, angry, and disconnected from reality.
#yyj #disinformation #misinformation

Rory White @rorywh.bsky.social · 6d

As the campaign continues to pop up in communities across the country, Canada’s National Observer has developed an unprecedented new tool that allows us to track the spread of campaigns like this: Civic Searchlight.

www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/08/i...

How Canada's National Observer tracked a climate misinfo group going 'under the radar'

As KICLEI's campaign moves into the shadows, Canada’s National Observer has developed an unprecedented new tool: Civic Searchlight. To build it, we assembled a database of council meetings in more tha...

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

Seth Klein @sethdklein.bsky.social · 6d

This is very cool and super valuable. Congrats to the team at @nationalobserver.com for launching this important new tool.

Check it out folks 👇

Jimmy Thomson @jameswsthomson.com · 6d

Today, @nationalobserver.com is launching a tool to search municipal meeting transcripts across Canada. The tool has already helped us unearth a climate denial network targeting towns and cities, report on AI data centers, measure our impact and more.

Journalists and researchers, sign up for free!

Canada’s National Observer unveils a powerful tool for fighting disinformation

Civic Searchlight brings together municipal meeting transcripts from across Canada into a searchable database for the first time. It has already been used to fight disinformation, report on impact, di...

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

Kara Shaw @shawkara.bsky.social · 6d

This is excellent news and such important work: www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/08/n...

Canada’s National Observer unveils a powerful tool for fighting disinformation

Civic Searchlight brings together municipal meeting transcripts from across Canada into a searchable database for the first time. It has already been used to fight disinformation, report on impact, di...

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

Spicy Scorpio(Karen) 🏳️‍🌈🪶🧡🇨🇦 @nish57.bsky.social · 6d

Canada’s National Observer unveils a powerful tool for fighting disinformation www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/08/n...

Canada’s National Observer unveils a powerful tool for fighting disinformation

Civic Searchlight brings together municipal meeting transcripts from across Canada into a searchable database for the first time. It has already been used to fight disinformation, report on impact, di...

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

Jimmy Thomson @jameswsthomson.com · 6d

Today, @nationalobserver.com is launching a tool to search municipal meeting transcripts across Canada. The tool has already helped us unearth a climate denial network targeting towns and cities, report on AI data centers, measure our impact and more.

Journalists and researchers, sign up for free!

Canada’s National Observer unveils a powerful tool for fighting disinformation

Civic Searchlight brings together municipal meeting transcripts from across Canada into a searchable database for the first time. It has already been used to fight disinformation, report on impact, di...

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

John Woodside @woodsideful.bsky.social · 6d

Today we're launching a new, powerful tool for public accountability created by @rorywh.bsky.social.

Civic Searchlight compiles hundreds of municipalities' public meetings and makes them searchable for the first time. It's free to use and we hope you journalists and researchers put it to work.

Canada’s National Observer unveils a powerful tool for fighting disinformation

Civic Searchlight brings together municipal meeting transcripts from across Canada into a searchable database for the first time. It has already been used to fight disinformation, report on impact, di...

www.nationalobserver.com

Rory White @rorywh.bsky.social · 6d

Today we launch Civic Searchlight, a tool for searching local government meeting transcripts across 550 municipalities in Canada.

Access is open for researchers and journalists:

civicsearchlight.nationalobserver.com

CivicSearchlight - by Canada's National Observer

Search transcripts of municipal meetings across Canada. Find discussions about topics that matter to your community with Canada's National Observer's search tool.

civicsearchlight.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

David McKie @davidmckie.bsky.social · 6d

As climate disinformation groups move into the shadows, Canada’s National Observer has developed an unprecedented new tool: Civic Searchlight. To build it, we assembled a database of council meetings in more than 550 municipalities. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/08/i...

How Canada's National Observer tracked a climate misinfo group going 'under the radar'

As KICLEI's campaign moves into the shadows, Canada’s National Observer has developed an unprecedented new tool: Civic Searchlight. To build it, we assembled a database of council meetings in more tha...

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

John Woodside @woodsideful.bsky.social · 20d

Just as adding a filter to a cigarette doesn’t promise cancer-free smoking, pairing oil production with carbon capture doesn’t actually decarbonize the fuel. Here's Catherine McKenna on the grand bargains being discussed and why she sees CCUS as a dead end.

Catherine McKenna isn’t buying Carney’s carbon capture grand bargain

In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the launch of her memoir, former climate minister Catherine McKenna warns consequences are coming for the fossil fuel industry, even as the federal government purs...

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

John Woodside @woodsideful.bsky.social · 21d

Replaying the Trudeau-era strategy of influencing policy by lobbying high-level officials isn't working for climate groups, who are now pivoting to an outsider game to find leverage in the age of Carney. This past weekend's protests were just a start to shift the political calculus.

Shut out of meetings, environmental groups fight for Carney's consideration

Replaying the Trudeau-era strategy of influencing policy by lobbying high-level officials isn't working for climate groups who are now pivoting to an outsider game in an attempt to find leverage in th...

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

John Woodside @woodsideful.bsky.social · 25d

Obtained federal planning documents say its "critical" to incorporate climate risks like wildfires for major events like the G7 Summit. That's quite the contrast to the Kananaskis Wildfire Charter issued during the summit that did not include a single reference to climate change.

As Canada prepared for G7, it planned for climate disasters

Wildfires fueled by climate change had the potential to disrupt the G7 Summit held in Kananaskis, according to federal planning documents.

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

John Woodside @woodsideful.bsky.social · 25d

Imperial Oil’s marketing materials have for years promised that the plant would convert canola oil into diesel using “hydrogen produced with carbon capture and storage technology.” But that isn’t happening. Story from @rorywh.bsky.social www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/19/i...

Biofuel subsidy boosts industry at environment's expense

Canada’s biggest renewable diesel plant just opened in Edmonton — but behind the glossy photos and political fanfare lies a messy truth. Imperial Oil is running the facility on fossil-fuel hydrogen, n...

www.nationalobserver.com

Rory White @rorywh.bsky.social · 25d

My latest: Imperial Oil’s marketing materials have for years promised that the plant would convert canola oil into diesel using “hydrogen produced with carbon capture and storage technology.” But that isn’t happening.

www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/19/i...

Biofuel subsidy boosts industry at environment's expense

Canada’s biggest renewable diesel plant just opened in Edmonton — but behind the glossy photos and political fanfare lies a messy truth. Imperial Oil is running the facility on fossil-fuel hydrogen, n...

www.nationalobserver.com

Rory White @rorywh.bsky.social · 28d

The wildfire danger where homes meet forests is rising worldwide. Using new data, we built a detailed map of Halifax’s fire-prone forest edge — and explain what it says about the state of the wildland urban interface in Canada. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/16/n...

Building to the forest's edge fuels fire danger

As cities expand into forests already primed to burn, experts say Canada needs stronger maps, building codes and planning rules to keep people safe.

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

John Woodside @woodsideful.bsky.social · 28d

The wildfire danger where homes meet forests is rising worldwide. Using new data, @rorywh.bsky.social and @cloelogan.bsky.social built a detailed map of Halifax’s fire-prone forest edge — and explain what it says about the state of the wildland urban interface in Canada.

Building to the forest's edge fuels fire danger

As cities expand into forests already primed to burn, experts say Canada needs stronger maps, building codes and planning rules to keep people safe.

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

John Woodside @woodsideful.bsky.social · 29d

The perception that red tape is preventing Canada from building major projects doesn’t hold hold up. Hundreds of projects, worth hundreds of billions of dollars are planned under existing regulations. Yet Carney blames a bureaucratic maze for stifling growth to justify his deregulatory agenda.

Carney's red tape narrative doesn't hold up

The perception that a bureaucratic maze is preventing Canada from building major projects, as Prime Minister Mark Carney has argued to support his deregulatory nation-building agenda, doesn’t hold up ...

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

Yale Environment 360 @yalee360.bsky.social · 29d

Explosive hurricanes and searing wildfires are pushing U.S. insurers to the limit, upending housing markets, and even reshaping the makeup of some communities.

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Gil Gaul reports:

How Climate Risks Are Putting Home Insurance Out of Reach

After years underestimating the risks posed by climate-fueled disasters, the U.S. home insurance industry is in turmoil. In vulnerable areas, rising insurance costs are upending housing markets and co...

Reposted by Rory White

awpiitr.bsky.social @awpiitr.bsky.social · 29d

a very credible group of people predicted 20 years ago that the insurance industry would push to solve climate change to hang onto their industry

instead they, like every other corporation, decided the imperative to increase profits for shareholders in the stort term was the way forward.

Yale Environment 360 @yalee360.bsky.social · 29d

Explosive hurricanes and searing wildfires are pushing U.S. insurers to the limit, upending housing markets, and even reshaping the makeup of some communities.

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Gil Gaul reports:

How Climate Risks Are Putting Home Insurance Out of Reach

After years underestimating the risks posed by climate-fueled disasters, the U.S. home insurance industry is in turmoil. In vulnerable areas, rising insurance costs are upending housing markets and co...

Reposted by Rory White

John Woodside @woodsideful.bsky.social · Sep 12

LNG Canada Phase 2 is the largest project in Carney's first batch of major projects and would double export capacity at the site. I'd bet Ottawa forks over some cash to make it happen — Carney suggested the Major Projects Office would consider that.
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/11/n...

LNG carbon bomb tops Carney’s list of major projects

Triggering immense backlash from climate groups and Indigenous leaders, Prime Minister Mark Carney revealed his long awaited first batch of nation-building projects that includes doubling capacity at ...

www.nationalobserver.com

Reposted by Rory White

Paris Marx @parismarx.com · Sep 11

In late June, Google quietly scrubbed its pledge to hit net zero by 2030 from its sustainability website as it goes full steam ahead on hyperscale data centers and generative AI.

Google deletes net-zero pledge from sustainability website

Five years ago, Google’s climate action ambitions were the gold standard for Big Tech. Then, with power demand spikes from AI data centres, in July it scrubbed its sustainability website of its 2030 n...

www.nationalobserver.com