Fraud. Abuse. Corruption. Waste. Dangers to people’s health. If you saw any of these things happening around you would you speak up? Would the risks outweigh the outcome? Is it worth losing your job or risking your personal safety?
For a group of people termed “whistleblowers” the benefits outweigh the risks in their quest for justice and public safety. When people witness a wrong-doing they may feel unsure whether what they are witnessing may be wrong according to the law. It becomes a question of what is ethical. Is it better to risk everything to report or worse to know about the unethical behavior and ignore it. It becomes a moral dilemma of doing what is right in spite of appearing disloyal to the reported company or organization.
Today, more and more people are blowing the whistle on corruption and abuse around them, but it isn’t without controversy and possible cost of career.
The act of whistleblowing dates back to the First Continental Congress in 1778 when Samuel Shaw and Richard Marven accused their Naval Commander in Chief of torturing British prisoners of war. Shaw and Marven were thrown in jail, but Congress intervened ushering in protection for whistleblowers in 1778. Since then, many whistle-blowers have come forward. There are laws in place to protect them, even if it is determined that their claims were inaccurate, including the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Act. By whistleblowing though, people have been publicly humiliated and isolated and lost their jobs.
Their integrity and mental health have come into question and not only their professional, personal lives have been jeopardized. For the whistle-blowers that have come forward the risks are worth it in order to do what is ethically correct. There are two types of whistleblowing. Internal whistleblowing involves reporting a wrongdoing within a company or organization. External whistleblowing involved reporting to the media or law enforcement about wrongdoings. Cyber whistleblowing has also come to the forefront in recent years to call out security breaches and hacks related to online technology.
There have been many famous whistleblowers exposed government agencies, brought down corporations, and even led the downfall of a Presidency.
In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg leaked The Pentagon Papers, which stated top secret information and details about the Vietnam War. He blew the whistle on the US government misleading our nation on our involvement in the costly war.Chelsea Manning, a former United States Army solider and anti-war activist, leaked 700,000 top secret military files she found disturbing to WikiLeaks that included helicopter videos and firing on innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. Other whistleblowers have brought down major corporations, from Sherron Watkins who brought Enron into bankruptcy to Jeffrey Wigand who blew the whistle on the unethical ways of Big Tobacco companies. Whistleblowers like Mark Felt known as Deep Throat leaked secrets to The Washington Post that brought down Nixon Presidency in the Watergate scandal.
Many famous whistleblowers have been brave to speak up and expose the dangerous secrets and practices that lurk within our organizations, corporations and government.
Whistleblowers can be a good thing as long as their motives are honest and pure.
Never be afraid to do what’s right. If you are ever in the situation where you see something you know is unethical, the United States Department of Labor has information on The Whistleblower Protection Program and the laws enforced by OSHA.
Whistleblowers brought down corporations and Presidents.
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