The Markup is an independent, nonprofit investigative newsroom established in 2018 to examine how digital systems affect everyday life. It focuses on reporting about the social, political and economic consequences of modern technology and the institutions that design and deploy it. The organization frames its work as public-interest journalism with an explicit aim to expose harms, document how technologies operate in practice, and provide evidence that can inform reform.
Mission and methods
The Markup describes its purpose as holding powerful actors to account and stimulating changes in policy and product behaviour. Its reporting is commonly data-driven: journalists work with researchers, data scientists and engineers to collect reproducible evidence, run audits of online platforms and algorithms, and publish underlying datasets and code where possible. Stories often combine narrative reporting with technical appendices and interactive features to make complex systems more transparent for a general audience. The outlet emphasizes public access and explains methods to help other journalists and researchers replicate or build on its work. See its stated mission for further context.
History and organization
The Markup began as a startup newsroom in 2018 and has operated as a nonprofit entity supported largely by donations and philanthropic grants rather than commercial advertising. Its staff includes investigative reporters, engineers, data analysts and editors who collaborate on cross-disciplinary projects. At launch and in its early phase the organization appointed an executive director to lead operations; that role has been referenced in public statements and coverage by name, including Sue Gardner in leadership contexts. The newsroom seeks to maintain editorial independence while relying on philanthropic funding models common to nonprofit journalism.
Coverage areas and examples of work
The Markup concentrates on topics where technology intersects with public life: privacy and surveillance, algorithmic bias, online misinformation, content moderation, automated decision-making, consumer-facing platform behavior and civic technology. Typical projects take the form of investigative features, platform audits, tool-based experiments and visualization-rich explainers. The newsroom often documents differential impacts on communities and highlights regulatory or corporate practices that create risk or harm. Its reporting is intended to be useful for policymakers, technologists and the public.
Impact and distinctions
Because The Markup pairs technical analysis with conventional reporting, its findings have been cited in public debates about tech policy and occasionally in regulatory inquiries. The outlet promotes transparency by releasing methods, scripts and data so other researchers can validate results. Its nonprofit, mission-driven model and emphasis on reproducible, tool-based investigations distinguish it from many mainstream newsrooms that cover technology primarily through beats or feature reporting. Readers can learn more about the societal focus of its work through coverage of technology’s effects on society.
- Approach: investigative, data-first journalism
- Funding: nonprofit donations and grants
- Outputs: investigative stories, audits, open datasets and tools