The Markup — the highly anticipated nonprofit news site that planned to explore the societal impacts of big tech and algorithms — has fired Julia Angwin, its much-respected cofounder and editor-in-chief. The Markup’s editorial team published a letter of “unequivocal support” for Angwin, who says that she was let go over email Monday night. The move baffled journalists on Tuesday, but Angwin said her ouster was the result of tension over the editorial mission of the site — specifically, whether it should take an “advocacy approach” or an “evidence- and data-driven approach.”

The editorial team of @team_markup has signed a statement of unequivocal support for our Editor in Chief, @JuliaAngwin: pic.twitter.com/aTRsmM6oeo — The Real Team Markup (@MarkupReal) April 23, 2019

Angwin, a Pulitzer Prize winner and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, left ProPublica about a year ago to launch the site. At ProPublica, she’d been an investigative reporter who’d built a team pairing programmers and journalists that specialized in investigating the opaque algorithms that influence our lives. ProPublica data scientist Jeff Larson went with her, and, as my colleague Christine Schmidt reported last year Sue Gardner , formerly of the Wikimedia Foundation and the CBC, was their third cofounder and executive director.

“I’m devastated to be forced out of the organization I conceived to pursue rigorous, evidence-based tech accountability journalism,” Angwin told The New York Times in a statement (and a tweet). “I will continue to pursue that mission and hope to find other ways to help build this field.” She also made a series of accusations about Gardner’s leadership, saying Gardner “is now seeking to change the mission of the newsroom to one based on advocacy against the tech companies…a ‘cause’ rather than a ‘publication.’” Angwin also said that Gardner first asked her to resign as editor-in-chief a month ago “to become a columnist, writing opinion articles.”

Gardner and Larson provided statements to the Times as well. “There is no change in the mission or purpose of The Markup,” Gardner said. “We are, pure and simple, a news outlet, we always have been and always will be. Our goals and purpose haven’t changed…We are not going to talk about the circumstances of Julia Angwin leaving The Markup, because as a matter of standard practice we don’t talk about personnel or HR issues.” Larson: “The Markup attempted to meet with Ms. Angwin in person, and discussions about her role had been ongoing for some time. This was not abrupt.”

The Markup’s editorial team is not happy about this. They collectively created a Twitter account, The Real Team Markup (bio: “The Real Team Markup In Exile”), and on Tuesday it published Angwin’s letter to philanthropist and Craiglist founder Craig Newmark, who provided $20 million of the $23 million that The Markup had raised to launch.

And an editorial exodus has begun, with the resignations of Jon Keegan, Lauren Kirchner, Surya Mattu, and Adrienne Jeffries, and Leon Yin — the majority of the site’s editorial staff.

I have just resigned from @team_markup. This has been my dream job. I have been so excited about this team, and the work we were doing feels so vitally important. But @JuliaAngwin is the reason I joined, and her ouster is the reason I am leaving. — Lauren Kirchner (@lkirchner) April 23, 2019

I have just resigned from @team_markup. I am so proud of the work we all have done and heartbroken that I wont see it to completion. But @JuliaAngwin is the reason I call myself a data journalist and I cant get myself to work for the organization that doesn't see her value — Surya Mattu (@suryamattu) April 23, 2019

Jon was my main reporting partner at The Markup. I have been elated for the past six weeks, working at what I thought was paradise for investigative journalism. I am incredibly sad to leave this team, but I just resigned as well. https://t.co/D36Burclv1 — Adrianne Jeffries (@adrjeffries) April 23, 2019

I just resigned from my position as Investigative Data Journalist at @team_markup. I loved this job, and was so excited about the work we were doing, and the amazing team we were building. Yesterday my boss @JuliaAngwin was fired. — Jon Keegan (@jonkeegan) April 23, 2019

Julia is one of my heroes and her work holding algorithms accountable is some of the most important and urgent journalistic work being done today. — Jon Keegan (@jonkeegan) April 23, 2019

I joined @team_markup to help people understand how the powerful technological forces in our society today were affecting their lives and to hold these systems accountable. It pains me to abandon this work. — Jon Keegan (@jonkeegan) April 23, 2019

I was looking forward to a long run at The Markup, and frankly this a shitty time for me to walk away from a great job. I’m now looking to join another newsroom where I can continue this work. DMs are open, any help appreciated. Thanks for reading 🖖🏻 — Jon Keegan (@jonkeegan) April 23, 2019

I am resigning from my dream job as data science editor at @team_markup! It has been a pleasure to work with such amazing journalists and technologists. Please follow my colleagues at @MarkupReal — Leon Yin (@LeonYin) April 23, 2019

(Update, 1:21 p.m.: After this story was published, The Markup tweeted a “Some news:” press release that provided little insight. And new editor-in-chief Jeff Larson tweeted a similarly opaque thread.)

Some response from me on today’s shifts at @team_markup: — Jeff Larson (@thejefflarson) April 23, 2019

As a data journalist, investigative reporter and programmer myself, I am deeply committed to that vision and to leading a newsroom that will produce breakthrough journalism with ethics and rigor. — Jeff Larson (@thejefflarson) April 23, 2019

The mission of rigorous journalism that illuminates how powerful institutions are using technology has never been more urgent, and is the reason my co-founders and I began The Markup last year. — Jeff Larson (@thejefflarson) April 23, 2019

The tension Angwin alleges — which, again, Gardner disputes is the issue here — is increasingly common in reporting on technology. The largest tech companies, accustomed to generally positive press until the 2016 Brexit and Trump elections, are now often seen as powerful titans destabilizing democracies, fueling misinformation and violence, encoding discrimination, and almost offhandedly crushing industries. Some journalists have moved to combine investigative reporting with a bit of the crusader’s zeal — like The Observer’s Carole Cadwalladr, who has done excellent reporting on issues like Cambridge Analytica scandal but is also comfortable saying that “liberal democracy was broken” and that Facebook & Co. “had broke it.” The sort of sentiment that Angwin accused Gardner of wanting in Markup journalism — “Facebook is a dumpster fire” — is not that hard to find on the tech-journalism web. But it doesn’t line up perfectly with what The Markup had framed itself as, which was more like a scientific engine that produced journalism:

The Markup is a new kind of journalistic organization, staffed with people who know how to investigate the uses of new technologies and make their effects understandable to non-experts. Our work is scientific and data-driven in nature. We develop hypotheses and assemble the data — through crowdsourcing, through FOIAs, and by scraping public sources — to surface stories.

On Tuesday, Media Twitter rallied around Angwin, including a public statement of support on Medium. The fate of The Markup without her is unclear; presumably Craig Newmark, as the site’s primary funder, will have some say in that. (He didn’t respond to a Times request for comment; when asked about it at an event today, he replied “I can’t ethically comment right now.”) But it’s unclear if there’s a board or other governance structure that could revisit this decision.

If the issue is as Julia frames it her argument couldn’t be more sound: there’s no shortage of heat against “big tech” right now. What’s in short supply is deep reporting that’s understands tech (and the business of it) and is trying to build an evidence base. — James Ball (@jamesrbuk) April 23, 2019

My first byline at the WSJ 13 years ago was w @JuliaAngwin. She took me under her wing and since then has proven to be one of the fiercest, boldest, fairest and most visionary journalists I have worked with. I respect and admire her immensely. And am so disheartened by this news. https://t.co/pO785DxBOJ — Emily Steel (@emilysteel) April 23, 2019

This is awful. Have been eagerly anticipating The Markup’s launch *because* of Julia’s track record of exceptional journalism. https://t.co/yjLPRAfKtD — Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) April 23, 2019

This is *shocking.* As a young Senate staffer, @JuliaAngwin's series at the Wall Street Journal was my education. I literally printed out stacks of her stories and would highlight them on the metro like a crazy person. Her work is foundational. Huge loss for @team_markup. https://t.co/EnvuyJRwDE — Alvaro Bedoya (@alvarombedoya) April 23, 2019

WTF is going on here? @JuliaAngwin gave me my start in tech reporting and investigations. I have been so looking forward to seeing her vision realized. Now more than ever, we as a society have a pressing need for this work. This news about @team_markup is extremely disconcerting. https://t.co/CCEaY215uE — Jennifer Valentino-DeVries (@jenvalentino) April 23, 2019

.@JuliaAngwin was the originator of the Pulitzer-finalist series @WhatTheyKnow from 2010-2013 https://t.co/UhaX8hSSLG She then led the incredibly important work at @ProPubPrivacy looking into bias in algorithms https://t.co/6AtP7ASr1m This is a terrible move by @team_markup — ashkan soltani (@ashk4n) April 23, 2019

Julia is unrivaled in the field – I have heard many a tech exec state that they are taking steps to do better as a *direct result* of her work. I'm glad she has the support of the editorial board, and she has mine as well. https://t.co/4v42nwFawI — Amie Stepanovich (@astepanovich) April 23, 2019

. @JuliaAngwin almost singlehandedly changed the way tech power was reported when no-one else was paying much attention. This is very bad news https://t.co/CMneEisak7 — emily bell (@emilybell) April 23, 2019

How much later can donors ask for their money back if they don’t like the direction an organization is heading in? Have a nice day @craignewmark… https://t.co/KGRBqEvMY2 — Ron Lieber (@ronlieber) April 23, 2019

Being a huge fan of the work of both @JuliaAngwin and @SuePGardner … I am speechless and ambivalent in a society hellbent toward polarization. https://t.co/nFUIH3eD0T — Joshua Gay (@joshuagay) April 23, 2019

Without the great @JuliaAngwin I don't see any point in reading The Markup. Someone will hire her soon and she will make that place the go-to news site for deep, serious investigations of the tech world and its affects on us. https://t.co/G39aaziRS0 — Siva Vaidhyanathan🗽🤘🏽 (@sivavaid) April 23, 2019

There aren't many reporters whose work has proved more prescient and influential than @JuliaAngwin's. Pretty shocking to see her forced out at the site she was building.@sapnahttps://t.co/ddkLHrAasB — Ben Casselman (@bencasselman) April 23, 2019

I am stunned and very sorry to hear of this development in a nascent news organization on which so much hope was resting, in terms of the journalism that it promised to deliver, primarily because of the track record of @JuliaAngwin. https://t.co/uMchDrd9Zf — Raju Narisetti (@raju) April 23, 2019

Whatever the truth of Julia Angwin's ouster might be, it's going to be awfully hard for The Markup to continue if the entire editorial staff supports her rather than current management https://t.co/2H5811We41 — Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) April 23, 2019