Election 2026
It was John Wayne’s political club. Now it’s spending millions on online influence
The Lincoln Media Foundation has spent big to push ‘local’ conservative messaging
Colin Lecher
Investigative Reporter
Colin Lecher is a reporter based in New York. His work on technology and society has received honors from the Association of Health Care Journalists, the Deadline Club, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and more.
Before joining The Markup, he was a senior reporter with The Verge. There, he reported on issues like automated cuts to healthcare, access to phone services in prisons, and the online gun market.
Privacy
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.
Artificial Intelligence
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
Privacy
‘We’re basically pushers:’ How a battle over kids on social media is unfolding in two California courtrooms
Lawsuits in California federal and state court are unearthing documents embarrassing to tech companies — and may be a tipping point into federal regulation.
Privacy
How Californians can use a new state website to block hundreds of data brokers
A tool called DROP lets California residents fill out a few forms to keep their personal data from being tracked or sold by data brokers.
News
Could this mysterious California news site influence the 2026 election?
The California Courier uses the name of an established paper and doesn’t disclose apparent Republican ties. Critics call it “pink slime”
Privacy
Why a new California law could change the way all Americans browse the internet
Legislation recently enacted in California will make it easier for consumers nationwide to protect their data
Privacy
We caught companies making it harder to delete your personal data online
Dozens of companies are hiding how you can delete your personal data, The Markup and CalMatters found. After our reporters reached out for comment, multiple companies have stopped the practice.
Pixel Hunt
House lawmakers demand answers from California health exchange on sending data to LinkedIn
The lawmakers cite a Markup and CalMatters investigation that first revealed Covered California’s data practices in April.
Pixel Hunt
We caught 4 more states sharing personal health data with Big Tech
Healthcare exchanges in Nevada, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island shared users’ sensitive health data with companies like Google and LinkedIn
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