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This Just In

An illustration of a cartoon figure with a star-shaped head as they walk throw a row of trees, where unidentified hands hold up post-it notes with personal information about the star-shaped figure.

Who’s buying your personal data: Disney, GM, your insurer and bank. Here’s what they get

Consumers asked a major data broker for their files. What they got back shows interest in how fat they are, how much they drink, and how likely they are to get a mammogram, among many other characteristics.

Visual explainer: Data brokers have detailed files on you. Here’s what’s in them — and how it impacts you

Remove your data: How Californians can use a new state website to block hundreds of data brokers

Two purple hands: one holds a phone reading “COVERAGE: REJECTED. HAVE A NICE DAY!,” the other holds a cereal box labeled “CEREAL, PRIZE INSIDE!” with a sticky note reading “BMI 31” circled in red.

Data brokers have detailed files on you. Here’s what’s in them — and how it impacts you

Data brokers collect thousands of details about your finances, health and habits. See what’s in your profile, who buys it and how companies use it.

An illustration in green, blue and white tones that depicts a medical appointment webpage with fill-out boxes, including a "enviar" button, surrounded by several pixels.

How TikTok and Google ended up with information about doctors’ appointments around the world

Doctoralia sent information about specialists and appointment dates to social media companies.

Defense tech has unleashed a new weapons boom in Southern California

An analysis of defense contracts charts the rise of defense spending — often in heavily Democratic districts

Illustration of Alice from Alice in Wonderland, dressed in a patient gown, falling down a rabbit hole surrounded by buttons that say “I accept” and privacy policies

The form asked my permission to share my health data. Then it wouldn’t let me say no.

Dark patterns force patients to share their data with big healthcare networks, even when the privacy form they’re signing explicitly says they can opt-out.

A close-up view of a person holding a white cell phone with both their hands. A ray of light softly illuminates the person's left hand.

Background checks to curb dating app violence advance in California legislature

Bill addresses an issue investigated by The Markup last year.

Original Investigation: Dating App Cover-Up: How Tinder, Hinge, and Their Corporate Owner Keep Rape Under Wraps

Following Markup investigation, Congress finds data brokers cost consumers tens of billions of dollars

A congressional investigation estimates broker breaches have cost consumers $20 billion in identity theft. Major brokers now promise to make it easier to opt out of their databases.

A person in a dark coat and light blue tie speaks at a wooden podium outdoors, smiling slightly as a microphone stands in front of them, with the pale yellow facade and white railing of a government building blurred in the background.

Mamdani to kill the NYC AI chatbot we caught telling businesses to break the law

New York mayor says terminating the ‘unusable’ bot will help close a budget gap

Original Investigation: NYC’s AI Chatbot Tells Businesses to Break the Law

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Pink-tinted photograph of a dancing group posing in sync, their arms arched, standing in formation on a stage in a dark dance studio; the background is a black backdrop with LED lights hanging on metal railing rigs

How we tested and evaluated AI-generated dance videos

None of the videos produced by the leading AI platforms showed the actual dances we requested.

Illustration of a woman on her laptop, set against a background of a browser window; the image is heavily manipulated to be pixelated in a bitmap style

This is how you stop data trackers from sucking up your health data

The Markup and CalMatters found multiple ways consumers can block the trackers quietly sending your data to tech companies, including those used on state-run health exchange websites.

Photo illustration of a masked person holding a phone with their raised arm; the background shows a crowd of masked protesters holding signs

How Do I Prepare My Phone for a Protest?

Simple steps to take before hitting the streets

Screenshot of The Markup's database showing state and local police agencies collaborating with ICE, overlaid on a pink and navy duotone background with sheriff cars; a magnifying glass icon appears in the bottom right

Here’s Every Local Police Agency Enforcing for ICE

Partnerships more than doubled during the first months of Trump's current term under a program known as 287(g)

Illustration featuring a magnifying glass positioned over multiple browser windows with a green swoosh in the background; inside the magnifying glass are two looping arrows

Launching Blacklight Query, a Tool to Scan Websites for Privacy at Scale

Inspect batches of websites for user-tracking tech with our new open-source command-line tool

The Markup wins SABEW Award for Best in Business Journalism

March 30, 2026

The Markup named Sigma Award finalist

May 13, 2025

Sisi Wei, right, and Dean Baquet in front of a colorful background at the Aspen Ideas Festival in June

Sisi Wei Recognized as a Freedom of the Press Rising Star in 2024 RCFP Awards

October 17, 2024

Collage of five stories from The Markup that won the 2024 ONA General Excellence in Online Journalism and Community-Centered Journalism Awards

The Markup Wins ONA Awards for General Excellence and Community-Centered Journalism

September 23, 2024

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