Anatomy of a Fake News Headline
How a series of algorithms whiffed and ended up warning Oregonians of an antifa invasion
Aaron Sankin
Investigative Reporter
Aaron Sankin reports on how technology can be used to harm marginalized people. His focus is on platform governance, online extremism, and regulatory policy.
Before The Markup, he covered online extremism for the Center for Investigative Reporting, where he launched the Hate Report newsletter and co-created the Hate Sleuths citizen journalism initiative. Before that, he was a senior staff writer at the Daily Dot and a founding editor of the Huffington Post’s San Francisco vertical.
His work has earned various awards, including a 2018 Public Radio News Directors Incorporated Award and a 2018 Webby Award. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Motley Fool, and Gizmodo.
Coronavirus
Want to Find a Misinformed Public? Facebook’s Already Done It
While vowing to police COVID-19 misinformation on its platform, Facebook let advertisers target users interested in“pseudoscience”
Ask The Markup
Can I Opt Out of Facial Scans at the Airport?
Technically, yes, but it is not always easy
Show Your WorkAllstate’s Algorithm
How We Analyzed Allstate’s Car Insurance Algorithm
By parsing a rare document containing fine details of the company’s auto insurance pricing, we found stark differences in how high proposed price hikes were allowed to rise
Allstate’s Algorithm
Suckers List: How Allstate’s Secret Auto Insurance Algorithm Squeezes Big Spenders
Insurers are supposed to price based on risk, but Allstate’s algorithm put a thumb on the scale