Whistleblowers were once applauded, and are still in the private sector, but it seems that government whistleblowers are criticized and many are even criminally charged. There is definitely a different approach to their activities. In fact, some advocates advise federal employees not to provide information because if they did, their lives would be destroyed (Shulman, 2007). What often happens is that they will never be able to work in the same role again in their career (Shulman, 2007). Many whistleblowers not only lose their jobs, but they also lose family and friends, and much of their money ends up with lawyers (Shulman, 2007). Indeed, nowadays, there is a wave of prosecutions against whistleblowers, and it is quite worrying (Burghardt, 2011). Are citizens' rights being eroded to protect bureaucratic secrets? Many case studies in this area support the idea that things have gone wrong. First, we'll look at the concept of a whistleblower Whistleblowers often find their way into the public eye, but what exactly is a whistleblower? What are the criteria? Whistle blowing means “raising the alarm in public about a mistake committed in private” (Vickers, 2002, p.42). By definition, a whistleblower can only “report” an organization of which he or she is a member (Vickers, 2002). This point is rather obvious. After all, the concept of a whistleblower means providing inside information. Furthermore, it raises a significant problem. People are reluctant to “blow the whistle” because they might lose everything they've worked for. It almost seems unfair. The person in this situation will have to decide whether or not to keep their job as it is, or do the right thing and say...... middle of paper......AMISDEMEANOR. The Baltimore Sun, 2A.Burghardt, T. (2011, May 16). The US government spies on Americans. Retrieved from http://truthfrequencynews.com/?p=3128Larson, A. (2003, September). Wrongful termination of employment at will. Retrieved from http://www.expertlaw.com/library/employment/at_will.htmlSchulman, D. (2007, May 1). DO NOT whistle WHILE WORKING. MotherJones, (3), 52.The GIFT of INFORMATION. (2010, December 05). New York Times Magazine.Vickers, L. (2002). Freedom of speech and work. WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning faces death penalty after Army accuses him of "aiding the enemy." (2011, March). Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1362375/Bradley-Manning-Wikileaks-whistleblower-faces-death-penalty-aiding-enemy.html