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Cover-up
A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational cover-ups (covering up someone else's misdeeds).
The expression is usually applied to people in positions of authority who abuse power to avoid or silence criticism or to deflect guilt of wrongdoing. Perpetrators of a cover-up (initiators or their allies) may be responsible for a misdeed, a breach of trust or duty, or a crime.
While the terms are often used loosely, cover-up involves withholding incriminatory evidence, while whitewash involves releasing misleadingly exculpatory evidence, and a frameup involves falsely blaming an innocent person. Misprision is the failure of mandated reporters to disclose crimes they are aware of (e.g., a military officer failing to proactively report evidence of treason, or a hospital failing to report child abuse).
A cover-up involving multiple parties is a type of conspiracy.
Snowjob is an American and Canadian colloquialism for deception or a cover-up; for example, Helen Gahagan Douglas described the Nixon Administration as "the greatest snow job in history".
When a scandal breaks, the discovery of an attempt to cover up the truth is often regarded as even more reprehensible than the original deeds.[citation needed]
Initially, a cover-up may require a lot of effort, but it will be carried out by those closely involved with the misdeed.[citation needed] Once some hint of the hidden matter starts to become known, the cover-up gradually draws all the top leadership, at least, of an organization into complicity in covering up a misdeed or even crime that may have originally been committed by a few of its members acting independently.[citation needed] This may be regarded as tacit approval of that behaviour.[citation needed]
It is likely that some cover-ups are successful, although by definition this cannot be confirmed. Many[citation needed] fail, however, as more and more people are drawn in and the possibility of exposure makes potential accomplices fearful of supporting the cover-up and as loose ends that may never normally have been noticed start to stand out. As it spreads, the cover-up itself creates yet more suspicious circumstances.
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Cover-up AI simulator
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Cover-up
A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational cover-ups (covering up someone else's misdeeds).
The expression is usually applied to people in positions of authority who abuse power to avoid or silence criticism or to deflect guilt of wrongdoing. Perpetrators of a cover-up (initiators or their allies) may be responsible for a misdeed, a breach of trust or duty, or a crime.
While the terms are often used loosely, cover-up involves withholding incriminatory evidence, while whitewash involves releasing misleadingly exculpatory evidence, and a frameup involves falsely blaming an innocent person. Misprision is the failure of mandated reporters to disclose crimes they are aware of (e.g., a military officer failing to proactively report evidence of treason, or a hospital failing to report child abuse).
A cover-up involving multiple parties is a type of conspiracy.
Snowjob is an American and Canadian colloquialism for deception or a cover-up; for example, Helen Gahagan Douglas described the Nixon Administration as "the greatest snow job in history".
When a scandal breaks, the discovery of an attempt to cover up the truth is often regarded as even more reprehensible than the original deeds.[citation needed]
Initially, a cover-up may require a lot of effort, but it will be carried out by those closely involved with the misdeed.[citation needed] Once some hint of the hidden matter starts to become known, the cover-up gradually draws all the top leadership, at least, of an organization into complicity in covering up a misdeed or even crime that may have originally been committed by a few of its members acting independently.[citation needed] This may be regarded as tacit approval of that behaviour.[citation needed]
It is likely that some cover-ups are successful, although by definition this cannot be confirmed. Many[citation needed] fail, however, as more and more people are drawn in and the possibility of exposure makes potential accomplices fearful of supporting the cover-up and as loose ends that may never normally have been noticed start to stand out. As it spreads, the cover-up itself creates yet more suspicious circumstances.