Pixel Hunt
Applied for Student Aid Online? Facebook Saw You
The FAFSA form included code that sent personal information back to Facebook
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.
Citizen Browser
Facebook Scammers Are Shilling Fake Cryptocurrency Using Big Tech’s Biggest Names
Facebook ads have popped up to advertise nonexistent Amazon, Tesla, and even Facebook cryptocurrencies
Machine Learning
A Network of Fake Test Answer Sites Is Trying to Incriminate Students
But some experts say such “honeypots” are educational entrapment
Pixel Hunt
Help Us Investigate Facebook Pixel Tracking
The full extent of how Facebook tracks people on the web is not understood—but you can help uncover what data the tech giant is gathering about you
Citizen Browser
One Year After the Capitol Riot, Americans Still See Two Very Different Facebooks
Data from The Markup’s Citizen Browser shows the platform’s partisan divide continues
Privacy
How Big Tech Is Pitching Digital Elder Care to Families
Spurred by the pandemic, Google, Amazon, and Apple are all offering tools for monitoring older adults, raising privacy concerns
Citizen Browser
Germany’s Far-Right Political Party, the AfD, Is Dominating Facebook This Election
Ahead of a national vote this month, Citizen Browser data shows that posts promoting the AfD party appeared more than three times as often as rivals'
News
Millions of Prequalified Households Are Missing Out on a Crucial Internet Benefit
The Emergency Broadband Benefit fund was supposed to be widely available, but not everyone is getting the money
The BreakdownPrivacy
Is the Cookie Web Tracker Dying?
The internet’s original data collection tool is still ubiquitous, even as the web moves away from it
The Breakdown
Should Families’ Surveillance Cameras Be Allowed in Nursing Homes?
Several states have passed laws allowing the practice—but not without controversy
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