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This Just In

Two individuals sit at a table in a classroom, writing on paper with pens. One person with dark, wavy hair and a black shirt focuses on their work, while the other, wearing a gray hoodie, holds a notebook with a bright orange sheet. A can of energy drink and a blue bottle sit on the table. A whiteboard with faint writing is visible in the background.

AI is helping students be more independent, but the isolation could be career poison

Chatbots may give students quick answers when they have questions, but they won’t help students form relationships that matter for college and life success.

A close-up of a yellow Cal Fire uniform with a detailed embroidered patch on the shoulder. The patch features the shape of California, a stylized flame, and text reading “CAL FIRE” and “Since 1885.” The words “California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection” are visible along the top of the patch. The fabric is lit with strong contrast, emphasizing its texture and stitching.

California's fire protection agency made an AI chatbot. It can’t answer one crucial question

The bot fails at some basic questions about fires. Cal Fire says it is working on fixes.

A stylized, glitch-effect image of a person with curly hair standing in a dark room, wearing a spaghetti strap top and high-waisted jeans. The person appears multiple times in overlapping positions, creating a blurred, distorted visual echo. The image is heavily tinted in purples and pinks, with digital noise and scan lines suggesting a corrupted or manipulated video frame.

Kids are making deepfakes of each other, and laws aren’t keeping up

Schools and lawmakers are grappling with how to address a new form of peer-on-peer image-based sexual abuse that disproportionately targets girls.

A view from behind of two rows of cars sitting idle during a traffic jam on a road.

California police are illegally sharing license plate data with ICE and Border Patrol

LAPD and the counties of San Diego, Orange, and Riverside have repeatedly shared automated license plate reader data to federal agencies

A collage-style illustration in green and gray tones with several images and textures on it, including: an image shows a mom's hand holding a baby's hand, apartment buildings and portions of a city grid line map.

The NYC Algorithm Deciding Which Families Are Under Watch for Child Abuse

How a family’s neighborhood, age, and mental health might get their case a deeper look

Illustration of a woman on her laptop, set against a background of a browser window; the image is heavily manipulated to be pixelated in a bitmap style

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.

Photo illustration of a masked person holding a phone with their raised arm; the background shows a crowd of masked protesters holding signs

How Do I Prepare My Phone for a Protest? (Updated 2024)

Simple steps to take before hitting the streets

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A person, with short white hair and wearing a blue suit, sits in front of a dais alongside other lawmakers during a hearing. A portion of an American flag can be seen in the background.

House lawmakers demand answers from California health exchange on sending data to LinkedIn

The lawmakers cite a Markup and CalMatters investigation that first revealed Covered California’s data practices in April.

Original investigation: How California sent residents’ personal health data to LinkedIn

We followed up: We caught 4 more states sharing personal health data with Big Tech

A side-view, as seen through a partially broken wire fence, of cars zooming through a highway on a cloudy day.

House bill targets loopholes that let car insurance companies charge more in Black neighborhoods

Bill reintroduction follows investigation by The Markup and Outlier Media that found insurers target Black neighborhoods for high rates

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

After Markup investigation, LinkedIn and Google face lawsuit alleging improper access to health data

The suit accuses the companies of receiving personal information through California’s state health insurance exchange.

Original Investigation: How California sent residents’ personal health data to LinkedIn

Screenshot of The Markup's database showing state and local police agencies collaborating with ICE, overlaid on a pink and navy duotone background with sheriff cars; a magnifying glass icon appears in the bottom right

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)

Illustration featuring a magnifying glass positioned over multiple browser windows with a green swoosh in the background; inside the magnifying glass are two looping arrows

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

The Markup named Sigma Award finalist

May 13, 2025

Sisi Wei, right, and Dean Baquet in front of a colorful background at the Aspen Ideas Festival in June

Sisi Wei Recognized as a Freedom of the Press Rising Star in 2024 RCFP Awards

October 17, 2024

Collage of five stories from The Markup that won the 2024 ONA General Excellence in Online Journalism and Community-Centered Journalism Awards

The Markup Wins ONA Awards for General Excellence and Community-Centered Journalism

September 23, 2024

Collage of the five stories from the Digital Book Banning series that won the 2024 ONA Excellence in Technology Reporting Award

The Markup’s “Clear and Beautiful” Reporting Wins Online Journalism Award

August 17, 2024

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