science

The Markup

The Markup is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Markup rather than just read about it. In short: The Markup is an American nonprofit news publication focused on the impact of technology on society. Founded in 2018 with the goal of advancing data-driven journalism, the publication launched in February 2020.

Key takeaways

The Markup belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Markup to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Markup from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Markup is an American nonprofit news publication focused on the impact of technology on society. Founded in 2018 with the goal of advancing data-driven journalism, the publication launched in February 2020. Nabiha Syed is the current chief executive officer and Sisi Wei is the editor-in-chief.

History The Markup was co-founded by two former ProPublica journalists, Julia Angwin and Jeff Larson, and executive and journalist Sue Gardner. The project was announced in April 2018, with an expected launch in early 2019. In 2018, founder Angwin said the portal planned to collect and create public datasets through public records requests, automated data collection, crowdsourcing information, and creating tools. In April 2019, Gardner fired Angwin as editor-in-chief. According to Larson and Gardner, the reasons for Angwin's removal included disagreements over the non-journalistic responsibilities of Angwin's role as an executive, such as the organization falling behind in its hiring plans and the launch timeline. Larson was named as her replacement. In a letter to Craig Newmark, The Markup's largest donor, Angwin asked him to intervene, claiming she was pushed out after resisting Gardner's attempts to change The Markup's mission to "one based on advocacy against the tech companies." Six out of seven journalists on staff resigned following Angwin's ouster. Gardner denied changing the mission, telling The New York Times, "We are, pure and simple, a news outlet, we always have been and always will be. Our goals and purpose haven't changed." In May 2019, Newmark announced that Gardner and Larson had left The Markup, and there were reports about plans to bring back Angwin as editor-in-chief. On August 6, 2019, The Markup announced that Angwin would return as editor-in-chief, along with Nabiha Syed as president and much of the original team – but without Larson or Gardner. Syed was previously BuzzFeed's associate general counsel and vice president. The publication launched in February 2020. In 2022, Syed hired Sisi Wei, formerly of OpenNews and ProPublica to become editor-in-chief, replacing Angwin. In February 2023, Angwin left The Markup. In April 2024, The Markup was acquired by nonprofit media outlet CalMatters. Wei became the company's chief impact officer and Syed became a strategic advisor and will take on a new external role in July. At the time of the sale The Markup had 28 employees and $5 million in philanthropic funding.

Funding The Markup received a $20 million gift from Craigslist founder Craig Newmark. The Markup also raised $2 million from the Knight Foundation and an additional $1 million from the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and The Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Initiative.

2022 reporting on Meta and tax preparation companies In November 2022, an investigation by The Markup revealed that tax filing companies including H&R Block, TaxSlayer, and TaxAct have shared users' financial information with Facebook parent company Meta. In response, a class action lawsuit was filed by H&R Block customers against Meta, who accused the tech company of violating users' privacy rights. Senator Elizabeth Warren and representatives Katie Porter and Brad Sherman sent letters to the tax companies, as well as Meta and Google, to warn against such behavior.

See also Institute for Nonprofit News (member)

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Markup

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Markup claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Markup before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Markup ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Markup

In research: The Markup appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Markup in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Markup is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2018 establishments in New York City, American technology news websites, Data journalism, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Markup outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Markup in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Markup means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Markup out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Markup in simple terms?

Why does The Markup matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Markup?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Markup.