We could be living in the era of the whistleblower — survey

Ireland might have an ambiguous relationship with its own whistleblowers, but a new survey indicates that internationally, we could be living in the era of the whistleblower.

A survey conducted by New Internationalist magazine found that 16% of those questioned said they would definitely blow the whistle if they uncovered information that they felt warranted public attention; with a further 80% saying they would give whistleblowing serious consideration.

In recent years Wikileaks has released a huge amount of data, not least US diplomatic cables, while last year Edward Snowden blew the lid on the scale of American state surveillance.