The Term: Whistleblower
The term whistleblower is defined as "one who reveals something covert or who informs against another," by the Merriam-Webster dictionary. More specifically, this wrong doing being exposed is typically illegal or unethical, and it often leads to greater conspiracy.
According to study.com, There are two types of whistleblowing. The first being internal whistleblowing, in which someone reports miss conduct to another person within a public or private organization. The second type of whistleblowing is external whistleblowing. This is when someone reports misconduct to an outside entity, specifically law enforcement or the media.
There are many notable cases of whistleblowers in the United States, with some of the most popular ones being individuals who have "blown their whistle" about misconduct within the US government. Notable whistleblowers include Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the pentagon papers, a secret account of the Vietnam war to the New York Times and Coleen Rowley, who exposed the FBI's slow action towards terrorism before 9/11.
There are numerous protection plans for whistleblowers within the United States, the first being the Whistleblower Act of 1989. This act protects whistleblowers who work within the US government and report the possible existence of an activity constituting a violation of law. There are also whistleblower protection programs put in place by OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. These laws enforced by OSHA protect employees from retaliation for reporting violations of various workplace misconduct.
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