To be a Whistleblower...

 

Oxford Languages defines a whistleblower as a person who informs on a person or organization engaged in an illicit activity. Earlier this week in class we had the opportunity to go over how far that term has gone considering where it started. 

    The United State’s history is one that time and time again has been saturated with war and conflict and this term is one that was first planted here in the time of the Revolutionary War. In the year 1778 when Esek Hopkins, a commander-in-chief of America’s first armed force overseas was suspected of harboring money and defining General direct orders, 2 of his men spoke out formally against the wrongdoing. Samuel Shaw and Richard Marven were the two men who faced jail time in the name of doing what was right for the still budding country. Their act shook the world into a new era as Congress heard their report and sided with the men, paying their way out of jail and stating a truth for the world to hear: “That it is the duty of all persons in the service of the United States, as well as all other the inhabitants thereof, to give the earliest information to Congress or other proper authority of any misconduct, frauds or misdemeanors committed by any officers or persons in the service of these states, which may come to their knowledge.” This statement was the first of its kind but they were not the last to utilize it.

    More recently there have been cases of people who still put this practice to use, keeping our society safe. This site lists a more well known case that involved the more popular social app Twitter. Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, a man who while working a security detail within the Twitter facility, was made to worry over the network's cyber security. Going public with his claims, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard him and Twitter was made to settle with the whistleblower for $7 Million.

    The concept of whistleblowing is deeply rooted in the duty to shine light to the misconduct and fraud that has too easily gone unchecked. From Samuel Shaw and Richard Marven’s bravery in the face of a new world, even without a security blanket to fall on, a precedent was made that now people like Zatko can look up to. Whistleblowers will continue to play a role in holding organizations accountable to hold together the integrity of society.