2022-11-11T14:48:10-06:00 2021-12-31 390974031 WEGNER CPAS LLP 419 N LEE ST ALEXANDRIA VA 223142301 990 2021-01-01 843438375 THE MARKUP NEWS INC MARK 3477174094 PO BOX 1103 NEW YORK NY 10159 KATE MYERS INTERIM CEO 3477174094 2022-11-11 1 KATE MYERS 999009999 GLENN MILLER CPA P00086726 7035190990 2022-11-09 3 AAL1 IAL1 2021 2022-09-23 18:48:47Z THE MARKUP NABIHA SYED PO BOX 1103 NEW YORK NY 10159 6862028 0 X THEMARKUP.ORG X 2020 NY THE MARKUP IS A NONPROFIT NEWSROOM THAT INVESTIGATES HOW POWERFUL INSTITUTIONS ARE USING TECHNOLOGY TO CHANGE OUR SOCIETY. WE ARE A NEW KIND OF MEDIA ORGANIZATION, STAFFED WITH AN UNPARALLELED ROSTER OF QUANTITATIVE JOURNALISTS WHO PURSUE MEANINGFUL, DATA-DRIVEN INVESTIGATIONS. 7 7 0 8 0 0 10419995 6857120 0 0 959 4908 0 0 10420954 6862028 0 0 0 0 3212677 4199516 57500 80000 155899 1294372 1440197 4564549 5719713 5856405 1142315 6014280 7207134 157875 208414 5856405 6998720 X THE MARKUP IS A NONPROFIT NEWSROOM THAT INVESTIGATES HOW POWERFUL INSTITUTIONS ARE USING TECHNOLOGY TO CHANGE OUR SOCIETY. WE ARE A NEW KIND OF MEDIA ORGANIZATION, STAFFED WITH AN UNPARALLELED ROSTER OF QUANTITATIVE JOURNALISTS WHO PURSUE MEANINGFUL, DATA-DRIVEN INVESTIGATIONS 0 0 3485305 0 0 EDITORIAL & GRAPHICS - IN 2021, THE MARKUP PUBLISHED INVESTIGATIONS AND REPORTS THAT REVEALED INEQUITIES AND HARM CAUSED BY TECHNOLOGY. OVER THE COURSE OF 2021, WE PUBLISHED 109 ARTICLES A COMBINATION OF IN-DEPTH, DATA BACKED INVESTIGATIONS AND SHORTER, EXPLANATORY ARTICLES THAT EQUIPPED OUR AUDIENCE WITH PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE. OUR WORK HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT. THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, AND OTHER AGENCIES ANNOUNCED A NEW INITIATIVE TO COMBAT DISCRIMINATORY MORTGAGE LENDING PRACTICES, CITING OUR INVESTIGATION INTO HOME LOAN APPLICATION APPROVAL RATES AS EVIDENCE OF A NATIONWIDE PROBLEM. THE HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ANTITRUST, COMMERCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW INTRODUCED THE AMERICAN CHOICE AND INNOVATION ONLINE ACT TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN LARGE TECH PLATFORMS FROM FAVORING THEIR OWN PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ON THEIR PLATFORMS (INCLUDING IN SEARCH RESULTS), CITING THE MARKUP'S 2020 GOOGLE THE GIANT INVESTIGATION. OUTSIDE OF GOVERNMENTAL RESPONSES, FACEBOOK PLEDGED TO REMOVE CREDIT CARD ADS TARGETED BY AGE AFTER THE MARKUP DISCOVERED COMPANIES WERE TARGETING FINANCIAL SERVICES TO SPECIFIC AGE GROUPS ON THE PLATFORM. WE ALSO REVEALED THAT THE POPULAR FAMILY SAFETY APP LIFE360 WAS SELLING DATA ON KIDS AND FAMILIES' WHEREABOUTS TO APPROXIMATELY A DOZEN DATA BROKERS, WHO IN TURN SELL LOCATION DATA TO VIRTUALLY ANYONE WHO WANTS TO BUY IT. AFTER OUR REPORTING, THE COMPANY SAID IT WOULD GET OUT OF THE BUSINESS OF SELLING RAW LOCATION DATA. IN ADDITION TO OUR REPORTING WORK, WE CONTINUED TO DEVELOP NEW DIGITAL TOOLS AND SUPPORT EXISTING ONES. IN LATE 2021 WE RELEASED THE AMAZON BRAND DETECTOR, A BROWSER EXTENSION THAT ALLOWS ANYONE SHOPPING ON AMAZON TO SEE WHICH PRODUCTS ARE OWNED BY OR EXCLUSIVE TO AMAZON (OFTEN INCONSISTENTLY DISCLOSED BY THE COMPANY) BY PLACING A BOX AROUND THEM IN AMAZON'S SIGNATURE ORANGE. WE LAUNCHED SPLIT SCREEN, AN INTERACTIVE DASHBOARD THAT USES CITIZEN BROWSER DATA TO REVEAL WHAT FACEBOOK'S ALGORITHM CHOOSES TO PLACE IN THE USERS' FEEDS ON A GIVEN DAY, SPLIT BY GENDER, AGE, OR POLITICAL LEANINGS. FINALLY, BLACKLIGHT, OUR FREE, INSTANT PRIVACY-INSPECTION TOOL, SURPASSED 2.5 MILLION URL SCANS. 542461 0 0 PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY - IN 2021, THE MARKUP'S PRODUCT AND TECH TEAM PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON BUILDING TOOLS AND PROGRAMS THAT EMPOWERED OTHERS THROUGH DATA AND INFORMATION. FIRST, WE BUILT OUT INTERNAL DATA ANALYSIS SYSTEMS THAT PROVIDED INSIGHTS TO MARKUP STAFF. WE EXTENDED THE ANALYTICAL CAPABILITIES OF OUR CITIZEN BROWSER DATA JOURNALISTS BY ADDING METABASE, AN OPEN SOURCE ANALYTICS PLATFORM, TO THE CITIZEN BROWSER WORKFLOW. METABASE MADE IT EASIER FOR JOURNALISTS TO DISCOVER STORIES WITHIN THE DATA WHILE ALSO IDENTIFYING AREAS WHERE THE SYSTEM COULD BE IMPROVED. WE ADDED ANOTHER OPEN SOURCE DATA ANALYTICS PLATFORM, SUPERSET, TO OUR OPERATIONS STACK TO VISUALIZE AND CONTEXTUALIZE DATA FROM SMALL DONATIONS. THE PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY TEAM ALSO EMBARKED ON A BOLD NEW INITIATVE - AN EDUCATION PROGRAM DESIGNED TO ILLUSTRATE OUR UNIQUE APPROACH TO BUILDING PRIVACY-FOCUSED TOOLS AND METHODS. 238921 0 0 AUDIENCE - IN 2021, WE FOCUSED OUR AUDIENCE WORK ON GROWING THE MARKUP'S WEB TRAFFIC AND SOCIAL FOOTPRINT. OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER, HELLO WORLD, AND OUR REPORTING UPDATE NEWSLETTER GREW TO A COMBINED 14,000 SUBSCRIBERSCONTRIBUTING TO SUBSCRIBER GROWTH OF 10% IN 2021. OUR SOCIAL FOOTPRINT GREW MONTH OVER MONTH IN 2021, WITH OUR MOST SIGNIFICANT GROWTH ON INSTAGRAM (UP 51% FOR THE YEAR) AND TWITTER (UP 11% FOR THE YEAR WITH 4,969 FOLLOWERS). WE CONTINUED OUR EFFORTS ON TWITTER SPACES AND GATHERED DATA THAT HELPED US MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS ON WHERE TO CENTER OUR RESOURCES, TESTING NEW VIDEO FORMATS WITH AN EMPHASIS ON REELS AND VERTICAL VIDEO FOR INSTAGRAM. WE CONDUCTED AUDIENCE EFFORTS FOR MULTIPLE INVESTIGATIONS THAT INCLUDED THE PRODUCTION OF SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT SUITES, REPORTER-CENTERED EVENTS INCLUDING TWITTER SPACES AND YOUTUBE LIVESTREAMS, EXTERNAL NEWSLETTER FEATURES, AND TARGETED OUTREACH FOR EACH PUBLICATION DATE. THE TEAM ALSO TESTED SMALL DOLLAR FUNDRAISING, INCLUDING A STICKER DRIVE AND DONATION MATCH PROGRAM AT THE END OF THE YEAR.OUR REPORTING ON ED-TECH WAS FEATURED AT OUR MARCH 29 EVENT "WHO'S GOT MY DATA?" GEARED AT TEACHING STUDENTS HOW TO PROTECT THEIR PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM EDTECH COMPANIES. THE ARCHIVED VERSION HAS BEEN VIEWED 800 TIMES. WE ALSO MADE OUR FIRST TRIP TO SXSW LEADING THE "WORKING FOR AN ALGORITHM" PANEL, AMPLIFYING THE VOICES OF LABOR AND LEGAL MINDS WHO FOCUS ON THE RIGHTS OF GIG WORKERS. 4266687 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 NY X NABIHA SYED 3477174094 PO BOX 1103 NEW YORK NY 10159 DAVID BOARDMAN CHAIR 1.00 X X 0 0 0 MELISSA HARRIS-PERRY DIRECTOR 1.00 X 0 0 0 STUART KARLE SECRETARY 1.00 X X 0 0 0 PAUL OHM TREASURER 1.00 X X 0 0 0 DELE OLOJEDE DIRECTOR 1.00 X 0 0 0 NICOLE WONG DIRECTOR 1.00 X 0 0 0 ANIL DASH DIRECTOR 1.00 X 0 0 0 JASON YURASEK DIRECTOR (THRU JAN 2021) 1.00 X 0 0 0 NABIHA SYED PRESIDENT 40.00 X 296554 0 33362 JULIA ANGWIN EDITOR IN CHIEF 40.00 X 296788 0 43666 EVELYN LARRUBIA MANAGING EDITOR, INVESTIGA 40.00 X 211788 0 16054 RAMSEY ISLER DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT 40.00 X 150805 0 13863 RINA PALTA NEWS EDITOR 40.00 X 149460 0 27611 JON KEEGAN INVESTIGATIVE DATA JOURNALIST 40.00 X 148690 0 41777 KOREY TE HIRA CHIEF OF STAFF 40.00 X 139148 0 27036 DANIEL PHIFFER FULL-STACK ENGINEER 40.00 X 134460 0 31545 LEON YIN INVESTIGATIVE DATA JOURNALIST 40.00 X 124436 0 28110 1652129 0 263024 14 0 1 0 JUSTWORKS 55 WATER ST NEW YORK NY 10041 PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYER ORGANIZATION 4186318 1 6857120 6857120 4908 4908 6862028 0 0 4908 X 1251250 1035213 200671 15366 2328442 1926418 373428 28596 53742 44463 8619 660 323914 267988 51948 3978 242168 200356 38838 2974 161625 113051 48574 80000 80000 819975 561945 241449 16581 4754 4754 28080 28080 13581 13581 165104 165104 4813 3139 1674 9935 7149 2489 297 2341 2341 70644 70644 DUES & SUBSCRIPTIONS 94020 62266 31099 655 65325 44699 13834 6792 5719713 4266687 1297127 155899 1186613 258386 4377102 6382010 175000 250000 265000 145108 49934 3021 1217 10608 1804 119849 0 6014280 7207134 118399 208414 39476 0 157875 208414 X 5469964 6035367 386441 963353 5856405 6998720 6014280 7207134 1142315 0 X 0 1 X 1 0 X 10419995 6857120 17277115 10419995 6857120 17277115 8314700 8962415 959 4908 5867 17282982 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 3021 1217 1804 1804 6862028 0 6862028 0 6862028 5719713 0 5719713 0 5719713 X X X X 1 GALLAGHER GROUP 750 COLUMBUS AVENUE 11K NEW YORK NY 10025 PROFESSIONAL FUNDRAISING 0 0 80000 -80000 80000 -80000 NY SCHEDULE G, PART I, LINE 2B, COLUMN (V) AMOUNTS PAID TO PROFESSIONAL FUNDRAISERS REFLECT CONTRACT FEES FOR THE PROFESSIONAL FUNDRAISING FEES INCURRED. X X X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 JULIA ANGWIN EDITOR IN CHIEF 296788 0 0 0 0 0 6003 0 37663 0 340454 0 0 0 NABIHA SYED PRESIDENT 296554 0 0 0 0 0 4938 0 28424 0 329916 0 0 0 EVELYN LARRUBIA MANAGING EDITOR, INVESTIGA 211788 0 0 0 0 0 2379 0 13675 0 227842 0 0 0 JON KEEGAN INVESTIGATIVE DATA JOURNALIST 148690 0 0 0 0 0 5253 0 36524 0 190467 0 0 0 RINA PALTA NEWS EDITOR 149460 0 0 0 0 0 3752 0 23859 0 177071 0 0 0 KOREY TE HIRA CHIEF OF STAFF 139148 0 0 0 0 0 2451 0 24585 0 166184 0 0 0 DANIEL PHIFFER FULL-STACK ENGINEER 134460 0 0 0 0 0 4727 0 26818 0 166005 0 0 0 RAMSEY ISLER DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT 150805 0 0 0 0 0 1651 0 12212 0 164668 0 0 0 LEON YIN INVESTIGATIVE DATA JOURNALIST 124436 0 0 0 0 0 4376 0 23734 0 152546 0 0 0 FORM 990, PART V, LINE 2A THE MARKUP NEWS, INC. LEASES EMPLOYEES FROM A PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT ORGANIZATION, JUSTWORKS. THE EMPLOYEES ARE CONSIDERED COMMON LAW EMPLOYEES OF THE MARKUP NEWS, INC., HOWEVER, JUSTWORKS IS THE EMPLOYER OF RECORD AND EMPLOYEES RECEIVE THEIR W2S FROM JUSTWORKS. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 11B INFORMATION PREPARED BY MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTANTS, AND FINAL VERSION REVIEWED BY MANAGEMENT AND TREASURER PRIOR TO SUBMISSION. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 12C PER THE ORGANIZATION'S POLICY: YOU ARE REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE IN GOOD FAITH AND IN WRITING TO THE COMMITTEE AT THE ORGANIZATION'S HEADQUARTERS ALL MATERIAL FACTS RELATED TO CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (INCLUDING THOSE THAT IMPLICATE AN OTHER RELATED PARTY BUT NOT A COVERED PERSON) (INCLUDING THE NATURE OF YOUR OR THE OTHER RELATED PARTY'S INTEREST AND INFORMATION ABOUT ANY PROPOSED TRANSACTION OR OTHER ARRANGEMENT). DISCLOSURES SHOULD BE MADE IN ADVANCE, BEFORE ANY ACTION IS TAKEN ON THE MATTER. CONFLICT IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS CAN BE DIFFICULT AND, THEREFORE, YOU ARE AT ALL TIMES EXPECTED TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION AND DISCLOSE ALL INSTANCES WHERE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST OR THE APPEARANCE OF A CONFLICT EXISTS. EACH CURRENT DIRECTOR, OFFICER AND KEY PERSON OF THE ORGANIZATION, AS WELL AS NOMINEES FOR ELECTION AS DIRECTOR (PRIOR TO HIS OR HER INITIAL ELECTION), MUST SUBMIT TO THE SECRETMY OF THE ORGANIZATION OR A DESIGNATED COMPLIANCE OFFICER AT LEAST ONCE PER YEAR (AND UPDATED AS APPROPRIATE) A QUESTIONNAIRE SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE FORM OF THE APPENDIX TO THIS POLICY. THE SECRETARY OF THE ORGANIZATION OR THE DESIGNATED COMPLIANCE OFFICER SHALL PROVIDE COPIES OF ALL COMPLETED STATEMENTS TO THE CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE. THE COMMITTEE WILL REVIEW ALL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS AND DETERMINE WHETHER TO APPROVE OR RATIFY ANY SUCH MATTERS; HOWEVER, A TRANSACTION WITH A RELATED PARTY MAY PROCEED WITHOUT COMMITTEE REVIEW IF THE TRANSACTION: (I) IS OF LIMITED MONETARY VALUE; (II) WOULD NOT USUALLY BE REVIEWED BY THE BOARD IN THE ORDINARY COURSE OF BUSINESS AND IS AVAILABLE TO OTHERS ON THE SAME OR SIMILAR TERMS; OR (III) PROVIDES A CHARITABLE BENEFIT TO A MEMBER OF A CHARITABLE CLASS WHERE THE BENEFIT IS AVAILABLE TO OTHERS ON SIMILAR TERMS. THE COMMITTEE MAY ONLY APPROVE THE UNDERLYING MATTER IF IT DETERMINES THAT SUCH MATTER, UNDER THE TERMS AND WITHIN THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND CONDITIONS PRESENTED, IS FAIR, REASONABLE, AND IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE ORGANIZATION AT THE TIME OF SUCH DETERMINATION. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 15A EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION WAS EVALUATED BY FUNDERS WHILE IN FISCAL SPONSORSHIP IN 2019 AND INTO 2020 USING COMPARABLE ORGANIZATIONS, AND THEN APPROVED BY FULL BOARD FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION C, LINE 19 THE ORGANIZATION MAKES ITS GOVERNING DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC UPON REQUEST. FORM 990, PART IX, LINE 11G CONSULTING FEES: PROGRAM SERVICE EXPENSES 544,784. MANAGEMENT AND GENERAL EXPENSES 234,076. FUNDRAISING EXPENSES 16,581. TOTAL EXPENSES 795,441. OTHER PROFESSIONAL FEES: PROGRAM SERVICE EXPENSES 17,161. MANAGEMENT AND GENERAL EXPENSES 7,373. FUNDRAISING EXPENSES 0. TOTAL EXPENSES 24,534.