Build Your Own Dataset
Slow Internet? Find Out What Side of the Digital Divide You’re On
All you need to test for disparities in internet speeds and pricing is a computer, internet access, a Google account, and some free time
Aaron Sankin
Investigative Reporter
Aaron Sankin was an investigative reporter at The Markup until August 2024.
Aaron Sankin reports on the intersection of technology and inequality. While at The Markup, he focused on issues ranging from the digital divide and social media platform governance to law enforcement technology and car insurance regulation.
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.
Aaron’s reporting has won various journalism awards, such as the Edward R. Murrow Award, the National Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence Award, the Sigma Award, and the SABEW Association for Business Journalists Award. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Motley Fool, and Gizmodo.
Aaron uses he/him pronouns.
Still Loading
See the Neighborhoods Internet Providers Excluded from Fast Internet
Explore The Markup’s interactive map to see where AT&T, CenturyLink, and Verizon offered only slow internet speeds in major U.S. cities
Hello World
Who's Afraid of Disparate Impact?
The answer could be crucial in the FCC’s attempt to combat “digital discrimination”
Still Loading
Introducing the United States Place Sampler (USPS)
Easily sample random U.S. street addresses using this new tool from Big Local News and The Markup
Show Your WorkStill Loading
How We Uncovered Disparities in Internet Deals
AT&T, Verizon, EarthLink, and CenturyLink disproportionately offered the worst deals to lower-income areas and communities of color across the country—while charging the same for faster speeds in higher-income and Whiter areas
Still Loading
Dollars to Megabits, You May Be Paying 400 Times As Much As Your Neighbor for Internet Service
An investigation by The Markup found that AT&T, Verizon, EarthLink, and CenturyLink disproportionately offered lower-income and least-White neighborhoods slow internet service for the same price as speedy connections they offered in other parts of town
Story Recipes
Journalists: Investigate Which Neighborhoods in Your City Are Offered the Worst Internet Deals
We analyzed more than 800,000 internet service offers in major U.S. cities. Here’s how you can use our data to report local stories
The BreakdownStill Loading
Why Is My Internet So Slow?
Small tubes good, big tubes better
Amazon’s Advantage
House Antitrust Committee Accuses Amazon of Lying to Congress, Asks DOJ to Investigate
As evidence, the committee cited The Markup’s investigation into Amazon’s preferencing of its own brands and exclusive products in search results
Allstate’s Algorithm
Newly Public Documents Allege Allstate Overcharged Loyal California Customers $1 billion
A 2020 Markup investigation found the company pursuing similar goals in other states
Page 3 of 6