Emerson Malone

Copy Editor

Emerson Malone is a copy editor and writer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Northern California, he studied journalism at the University of Oregon. Before The Markup, he worked at BuzzFeed News.

An instructor wearing a mask stands at the front of a classroom, gesturing while speaking to students seated at round tables. A projected slide behind the instructor displays a chart titled “Creating Your Synthesis Chart,” outlining how to organize sources and main ideas. The image is framed by two blurred vertical objects in the foreground, giving the perspective of someone observing through a narrow space.

Artificial Intelligence

Turnitin charged colleges vastly different amounts to detect plagarism

Purchasing records show some colleges are paying three times more than others.

June 26, 2025 08:30 ET

An illustration in pink and dark purple tones that shows the silhouette of a student holding a piece of paper as they stand in the middle of a cyberspace grid. A white paper with highlighted text can be seen in the background behind the student as pink boxes with exclamation points float around.

Artificial Intelligence

California colleges spend millions to catch plagiarism and AI. Is the faulty tech worth it?

Colleges and universities renew Turnitin subscriptions year after year even though its flawed detectors are expensive and require students to let the company keep their papers forever.

June 26, 2025 08:30 ET

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

The company behind more than a dozen dating apps, Match Group, has known for years about the abusive users on its platforms, but chooses to leave millions of people in the dark

February 13, 2025 05:00 ET

Illustration of a Black woman driving a car whose headlights are eyes, situated in the middle of the road surrounded by houses; there is a “Welcome to Detroit, Michigan” sign to the left of the car

Show Your WorkPremium Penalty

How We Investigated Car Insurance Loopholes in Michigan

We found that Michigan’s reforms allowed auto insurers to charge higher rates in Black neighborhoods

July 18, 2024 06:15 ET

Photograph of two cats on a sofa; the gray cat is curled up and sleeping; the orange cat is on her back exposing her belly

Premium Penalty

Why Stopping Algorithmic Inequality Requires Taking Race Into Account

Let us explain. With cats

July 18, 2024 06:15 ET

Photograph of the exterior of an Allstate office in Detroit

Premium Penalty

How to Get a Discount on Your Car Insurance

Step 1: Buy more insurance. Yup, you read that right

July 18, 2024 06:15 ET

Illustration of a Black woman driving a car whose headlights are eyes, situated in the middle of the road surrounded by houses; there is a “Welcome to Detroit, Michigan” sign to the left of the car

Premium Penalty

Michigan’s “Fair and Reasonable” Reforms Allowed Car Insurers to Charge More in Black Neighborhoods

An investigation by The Markup and Outlier Media found lawmakers created loopholes big enough to drive through

July 18, 2024 06:15 ET

Pixel Hunt

Mortgage Brokers Sent People’s Estimated Credit, Address, and Veteran Status to Facebook

More than 200 national and regional lenders share sensitive user data with Facebook. Experts say it might be illegal

May 15, 2024 05:00 ET

Illustration of cascading website browsers for sites like Wikipedia, Google, Nasa, It Gets Better and The Trevor Project; the browser windows have an inverted halftone filter that obscures the site's content

Digital Book Banning

Schools Were Just Supposed To Block Porn. Instead They Sabotaged Homework and Censored Suicide Prevention Sites

The Trevor Project? Blocked. Planned Parenthood? Blocked. NASA? BLOCKED

April 13, 2024 06:00 ET

Illustration of cascading website browsers for sites like Wikipedia, Google, Nasa, It Gets Better and The Trevor Project; the browser windows have an inverted halftone filter that obscures the site's content

Show Your WorkDigital Book Banning

How We Investigated Web Censorship in Schools

We requested records from 26 districts in 11 states. Ten turned us down on cybersecurity grounds.

April 13, 2024 06:00 ET

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