ABSTRACT
This chapter considers whistleblowing cases as scandals and to fit them within the existing theoretical framework of scandals and accordingly to propose a taxonomy of recent whistleblowing cases. All the quoted source material came from Edward Snowden, a former US intelligence contractor turned whistleblower who contacted journalists to hand over the information. The presence of a declared whistleblower, like Edward Snowden or Christopher Wylie for the Cambridge Analytica case, is by itself a sign that scandalization will potentially follow the explosion of a whistleblowing case, but the overall impact may vary according to the severity of the misbehavior exposed. News outlets have certainly still played a major part, but less traditional players such as online whistleblowing platforms have also gained prominence. The chapter analyzes whistleblowing as one of the most peculiar and potentially powerful triggers of scandals in the media by proposing a dedicated taxonomy based on the existing literature on media and scandals.
