Whistleblowers Definition And Meaning
Whistleblower is person who reveals wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority. He is an informant who exposes wrongdoing within an organization in the hope of stopping it.
Whistleblowers are generally seen as brave individuals who take a stand against the practices of an organization. Whether in business or health care, the cases are similar to the examinations of 64 whistleblowers by Glazer and Glazer (1989). They are parallel to the movie The Insider, which depicted the tactics of the tobacco industry to hide the addictiveness of its product. Many stories indicate that whistleblowers face adversity when standing up to an organization.
One of the most famous whistleblowers in recent history is Edward Snowden, whose leaked documents revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many of them run by the NSA and the Five Eyes (intelligence alliance of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States) with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments. A subject of controversy, Snowden has been variously called a hero, whistleblower, spy or the traitor.
A whistleblower is an individual who discloses information on illegal activities within an organization. Whistleblowers usually are people employed in a private enterprise or state agency who exposes to the public dishonesty, illegal actions, mismanagement, and many other related issues.
In other words, a whistleblower (also known as relator) is the one who has insider information of a fraud against the government and files a suit in order to help stop wrongdoers from defrauding the government.
Such wrongdoings typically include a violation of a regulation, law or a threat to public like corruption, fraud, health violation, etc.
The law gives little protection to whistleblowers who feel the public has a right to know what is going on and they reveal the informations risking their jobs, security or even lives.