Jeff Larson and Sue Gardner likely didn’t anticipate this blowback. The two media executives are at the helm of the Markup–a still-in-development investigative news publication that was slated to launch in July–along with ProPublica veteran Julia Angwin. Today, however, Angwin announced that she was being let go from her position as editor-in-chief, due to alleged differences with Gardner. Larson will be taking over as editor-in-chief. And now reporters are resigning.

When it was first announced, the Markup was pitched as a publication that would look at technology and its underlying effects on society. With a $23 million cash infusion in part from Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, the team of around 20 journalists would sift through public records, analyze data, and then write deep reports about the tectonic changes happening before our very eyes. This followed closely with Angwin’s past reporting at ProPublica, a nonprofit news outlet that often publishes investigations on big companies like Facebook.

However, in a letter to Newmark on Monday, Angwin accused Gardner of refocusing the outlet’s mission. “Executive Director Sue Gardner is now seeking to change the mission of the newsroom to one based on advocacy against the tech companies,” she wrote.

She went on to say that Gardner began to ask candidates during interviews for their “take” on tech companies, and then reportedly rated them based on their antipathy toward these businesses. “This approach is a direct repudiation of our promise to . . . you and our other donors,” she wrote.

Gardner disputed this characterization to the New York Times. Employees, however, feel blindsided. Many found out about the decision to oust Angwin only yesterday, but still don’t quite understand what happened. Some described Larson’s and Gardner’s complaints about Angwin as petty grievances. While there may have been some brewing disagreements at the top for some time, employees say they were generally quite happy with the atmosphere of the newsroom. They were working on stories, attending meetings, and collaborating cohesively, sources tell me.

The move to let Angwin go, one source says, looked very much like a “power grab.” Angwin was one of the founders of this organization, and the other two, for an unknown reason, weren’t on the same page as her. The two allegedly complained about Angwin’s management style, yet those managed by her disagreed. “It’s Jeff and Sue versus Julia,” one source says.

Now multiple staffers are leaving the Markup. So far, five editors and writers have taken to Twitter to announce their departure from the publication in light of Angwin’s ouster. For each individual Twitter announcement, Angwin has tweeted in response that they “can’t afford to do this. This is heartbreaking.”