Whistleblower (English "Skandalaufdecker ", literally ") designates a special informant, the bad states, illegal acting (e.g. Corruption, insider trade) or general dangers (e.g. Radioactive contamination) to the public brings. In the linguistic usage of the natural sciences a Whistleblower is that, which makes a case of scientific failure public.

Negatively turned the term designates a so-called Nestbeschmutzer, the Interna of its work surrounding field "out-chatted". Here in equating with a Denunzianten frequently renowning craze, personal advantage calculation and glaring disloyalty opposite colleagues and employers are attributed to a Whistleblower.

Positively turned the term for a reference giver for conscience reasons is used - someone, which brings unfair machinations of governments to prevent administrations or enterprises to the civil courage in an act to the public, in order these bad states. Such Whistleblower risks pretty often its job and its social reputation. They become thus very frequently victims of Mobbing attacks. Perhaps Whistleblower, which betray state secrets, must count on prison.

The angloamerikanische right term finds so far no accurate correspondence in German - nevertheless the phenomenon "Whistleblowing" is reflected increasingly for instance in the framework by science and administrative ethics. In Great Britain and the USA Whistleblower are already protected by the law (Whistleblower Protection act).

2002 was distinguished three Whistleblowers of Time magazines as a person OF the Year.

The state criminal police agency Lower Saxony took a Website for referring to corruption particularly in enterprise.

Prominent Whistleblower

• Bertram: with its political book "ground-glass plate the end of the television culture"
• Paul van Buitenen, EU-Kontrollbeamter, who 1998 turned publicly against the fraudulent machinations of some members of the European commission. As consequence of its action the whole commission had to withdraw. A further consequence was that Paul von Buitenen was long given time off four months (with halving of his payment) and after it to a "harmless" place was shifted. Today it is member of the European parliament and represents the Netherlands small party Europe transparency.
• Klaus in the 80's a high civil servant of the North-Rhine/Westphalian fiscal authorities, uncovered illegal party PEND EN practice Friedrich Karl Flicks, the repairing scandal by his civil courage. Today he works private-economically as independent in the Rhine country.
• An Israeli atomic technician, Mordechai Vanunu, betrayed western media that Israel possesses the atom bomb. It was kidnapped by the Israeli secret service from Italy to Israel and condemned because of secret betrayal from an Israeli court to a detention.
• Katherine Gun, translator at the British secret service GCHQ, gave price to the public the fact that UN-authorities and - delegated by the British secret service to be heard. It knew its participation in the preparations to the 3. The Gulf War with their conscience do not agree upon. It was acquitted by the court.
• Hans Peter Martin, member of the European parliament, tried to prove 2004 daily allowance creeping in the year.
• Clearly to hold that not the US-American vice-president advisor Lewis Libby or the involved, New York Times lady journalist Judith Miller withdrawn perforce is as Whistleblower to apply can, probably however the marriage partner of the law-adversely uncovered CIA Geheimagentin, Joseph C. Wilson, which with its public occurring for it the technically exactly well-known truth (that no Nigerian nuclear weapon raw material by Saddam Hussein had been erhandelt) released the act of revenge Libbys.
• Christoph Meili, former guard of the Swiss major bank UBS smuggled 1997 Holocaust documents from the bank and saved it from the shredder.

Literature

• Klaus M. Leisinger: Whistleblowing and Corporate Reputation management, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-87988-731-4
• Rohde Liebenau: Whistleblowing - contribution of the coworkers for risk communication, Duesseldorf 2005, ISBN 3-86593-036-0

See also

• Muckraker
• Investigativer journalism

Related links

• Handling Whistleblowing and its use
• Whistleblower network

Articles in category "Whistleblower"

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