Premium content: This is from our forthcoming subscriber-exclusive Media Miss newsletter, where we will take you inside the algorithms and agendas shaping what you see.
Today, I dive into the seedy world of data brokers and how they make money from people’s online behaviors. Plus, a look at the spin around Anthony Fauci’s “bad week” before Congress.
Media Mechanics
All of our personal information is being sold online. Our shopping habits, our hobbies, our vices. Trust me, I’d know — because I bought it.
My latest investigation is one that, frankly, I’ve wanted to write for years. I bought a detailed, custom-tailored list of wealthy New York suburbanites who smoke cigarettes. Not because I’m looking to bum a Marlboro Red. Rather, I carried out what one online privacy advocate called “the equivalent of a digital drug deal.”
The experiment reveals how data brokers amass vast profiles about all of us — and are willing to sell our personal information to just about anyone with little more than a credit card.
Anybody who uses the internet feels the effects of targeted advertising through personalized recommendations so precise it sometimes feels like businesses have hacked our phones. That’s the work of data brokers, who make up a $470 billion industry that archives people’s interests and, ultimately, gets them to open their wallets.
Every time a person gives their attention to a device in their hands or on their desktops, their behaviors are tracked. This includes every time they visit a website, tap a “like” button on social media, download a free game from the app store or place an online order. Then, in the form of targeted advertisements and tailored recommendations, it’s all served back to them.
Read my latest investigation into how these companies sell your data and, depending on where you live, how to opt out.
Register now to receive a discount code for when our subscription launches to continue to receive content like this plus more!
Miss Spotlights
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Left Media Miss
Maui Police Department Congressional candidate arrested after altercation at Maui beach
17% left coverage58% right coverage
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Kirill Basin, a Democrat running for the U.S. House of Representatives, was charged with two felony counts of terroristic threatening following an incident that happened Saturday at a Maui beach. The Maui Police Department said Basin pulled out a knife and threatened people after a 61-year-old man asked him to turn down his music. Basin then allegedly tossed the knife into the ocean.
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Right Media Miss
Krongkaew/Getty Images California bill would regulate use of AI for therapy
37% left coverage0% right coverage
Powered by Ground News™
A bill introduced in the California state legislature would put limits on the use of artificial intelligence when it comes to mental health. Senate Bill 903 prohibits AI companies from advertising that they offer therapeutic services if they are provided by “companion chatbots.” It also makes it so AI isn’t allowed to make therapeutic decisions without being reviewed by a licensed professional.
Unbalanced Headlines
What happened:
A Republican-led Senate committee voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress and refer the case to the Justice Department after he invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during testimony on the government’s COVID-19 response and the coronavirus’s origins. The vote split along party lines.
🟦 LEFT HEADLINE:
The Ruthless Persecution of Anthony Fauci Is the Story of Our Time — Reported Aug. 6, 2026, by Talking Points Memo
🟥 RIGHT HEADLINE:
Anthony Fauci’s bad week just got A WHOLE LOT worse — Reported Aug. 6, 2026, by The Blaze
Competing narratives
Left-leaning coverage framed the contempt vote as partisan retaliation, emphasizing that Republicans have targeted Fauci for years and portraying Biden’s pardon as a potential legal shield.
Right-leaning coverage framed the episode as an exercise in accountability, emphasizing Fauci’s “111 times” invoking the Fifth Amendment, the possibility of prosecution, and broader claims involving Wuhan and alleged cover-ups.
Essential Reads
- Inside the online video game that lures young people to a Russian drone factory
- Does social media make you feel bad? The fault is not in our algorithm, but in ourselves
- An influencer found a candidate she liked, leading to questions of paid promotion
- Google’s new AI could give hurricane forecasters an extra day of warning
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Inside the online video game that lures young people to a Russian drone factory
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Getty Images Does social media make you feel bad? The fault is not in our algorithm, but in ourselves
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Finn Gomez/Getty Images/Jennopalis An influencer found a candidate she liked, leading to questions of paid promotion
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Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2025 Google’s new AI could give hurricane forecasters an extra day of warning
Round out your reading
- Former Fetterman staffers create social media account to expose former boss.
- Why Gen Z finally wants Boomer hand-me-downs.
- Want a copy of Pete Hegseth’s driver’s license? It’s for sale on the dark web.
- Smart glasses helped a man see the world. The privacy panic took it away.
- Americans are keeping cars longer, so the auto industry is making it easier to pay for repairs.
