Blacklight
Nonprofit Websites Are Riddled With Ad Trackers
Such organizations often deal in sensitive issues, like mental health, addiction, and reproductive rights—and many are feeding data about website visitors to corporations
Maddy Varner
Investigative Data Journalist
Maddy Varner extracts datasets from public documents and databases to help build a more concrete understanding of how organizations use technology to predict and affect behavior—and the problems in those assumptions.
Before The Markup, she was a researcher at ProPublica, where she was on a team that won a Loeb Award for Beat Reporting in 2017 for “Monetizing Hate,” a series of stories that examined Facebook’s ad practices.
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
Working for an Algorithm
Uber And Lyft Drivers Are Being Carjacked at Alarming Rates
The Markup confirmed 124 carjackings and attempted carjackings of ride-hail drivers across the country. Drivers say the companies are doing little to help
The Breakdown
Are “Buy Now, Pay Later” Retail Loans a Rip-off?
Companies like Afterpay and Klarna make money when you overspend, but not in the way you think
News
Uber and Lyft Donated to Community Groups Who Then Pushed the Companies’ Agenda
The ride-hail giants are orchestrating a complex PR scheme to sway public opinion to ensure drivers aren’t classified as employees
Show Your Work
How We Investigated NYC High School Admissions
New York City schools’ extensive use of screens to choose students is cementing segregation
Machine Learning
NYC’s School Algorithms Cement Segregation. This Data Shows How
New numbers show how many students are locked out by the system
Privacy
The Little-Known Data Broker Industry Is Spending Big Bucks Lobbying Congress
Data brokers’ millions of dollars in lobbying spending in 2020 rivaled that of some Big Tech firms
News
For Sale on Etsy: Greeting Cards and … Gun Parts?
The Markup found several vendors selling high-capacity ammunition magazines and firearm accessories on Etsy
Google the Giant
Introducing Simple Search
A new browser extension from The Markup
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