Show Your WorkCitizen Browser
How We Investigated Facebook’s Most Popular Content
We found that Facebook's popularity metric obscures how well ultra-conservative content does on the platform
Simon Fondrie-Teitler
Infrastructure Engineer
Simon Fondrie-Teitler keeps The Markup’s servers secure and stable.
Before joining The Markup, he worked as a software developer, systems administrator, and SRE for various startups as well as The University of Wisconsin–Madison.
He has also contributed to Free Software projects, including Debian and MediaGoblin.
Citizen Browser
Facebook Isn’t Telling You How Popular Right-Wing Content Is on the Platform
Facebook insists that mainstream news sites perform the best on its platform. But by other measures, sensationalist, partisan content reigns
Show Your WorkAmazon’s Advantage
How We Analyzed Amazon’s Treatment of Its “Brands” in Search Results
We found that Amazon routinely puts its own brands and exclusive products first, above competitors with better ratings and more reviews
Amazon’s Advantage
Amazon Puts Its Own “Brands” First Above Better-Rated Products
The online giant gives a leg up to hundreds of house brand and exclusive products that most people don’t know are connected to Amazon
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'
Citizen Browser
Facebook Rolls Out News Feed Change That Blocks Watchdogs from Gathering Data
The tweak, which targets the code in accessibility features for visually impaired users, drew ire from researchers and those who monitor the platform
Citizen Browser
How The Daily Wire Uses Facebook’s Targeted Advertising to Build Its Brand
The social media giant's powerful targeting tools appear to be part of Ben Shapiro’s success in growing his audience on the platform
Citizen Browser
Facebook Got Rid of Racial Ad Categories. Or Did It?
Our Citizen Browser project found an array of proxies through which advertisers can target Black Facebook users, among other demographics
Citizen Browser
After Repeatedly Promising Not to, Facebook Keeps Recommending Political Groups to Its Users
The company announced the policy as a way to stop spreading divisive content
Citizen Browser
Facebook Said It Would Stop Recommending Anti-Vaccine Groups. It Didn’t
As COVID-19 surged, the social media company pointed users to all sorts of anti-vaccine and anti-mask groups
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