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”
Gabriel Hongsdusit
Visual Designer
Gabriel Hongsdusit is the visual designer at The Markup. Previously, he was the design and visuals editor at Reveal, where he was responsible for the overall design and visual direction of the newsroom, which included illustrations, editorial design, product design, photo editing, and data graphics. Before that, he was the design apprentice for the Institute for Nonprofit News.
Gabe graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in linguistics and Mandarin Chinese. He is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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
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
The BreakdownPixel Hunt
This is how you stop data trackers from sucking up your health data
The Markup and CalMatters found multiple ways consumers can block the trackers quietly sending your data to tech companies, including those used on state-run health exchange websites.
Pixel Hunt
How California sent residents’ personal health data to LinkedIn
The state’s health insurance exchange transmitted pregnancy and domestic abuse data during a marketing campaign. It is reviewing its website practices.
Tools
Here’s Every Local Police Agency Enforcing for ICE
Partnerships more than doubled during the first months of Trump's current term under a program known as 287(g)
Artificial Intelligence
California Is Considering 30 New AI Regulations. Trump Wants None
President Trump is taking a very different approach to AI than the Biden administration, and it could affect how California regulates artificial intelligence
Machine Learning
AI Chatbots Can Cushion the High School Counselor Shortage — But Are They Bad for Students?
The more students turn to chatbots, the fewer chances they have to develop real-life relationships that can lead to jobs and later success
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
Blacklight
Launching Blacklight Query, a Tool to Scan Websites for Privacy at Scale
Inspect batches of websites for user-tracking tech with our new open-source command-line tool
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