- Source: 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.
Definitions and related terms
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 a deception or a cover-up; for example, Helen Gahagan Douglas described the Nixon Administration as "the greatest snow job in history".
Modern usage
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.
Initially a cover-up may require a lot of effort, but it will be carried out by those closely involved with the misdeed. 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. This may be regarded as tacit approval of that behaviour.
It is likely that some cover-ups are successful, although by definition this cannot be confirmed. Many 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.
The original misdeed being covered may be relatively minor, such as the "third-rate burglary" which started the Watergate scandal, but the cover-up adds so many additional crimes (obstruction of justice, perjury, payoffs and bribes, in some cases suspicious suicides or outright murder) that the cover-up becomes much more serious than the original crime. This gave rise to the phrase, "it's not the crime, it's the cover-up".
Cover-ups do not necessarily require the active manipulation of facts or circumstances. Arguably the most common form of cover-up is one of non-action. It is the conscious failure to release incriminating information by a third party. This passive cover-up may be justified by the motive of not wanting to embarrass the culprit or expose them to criminal prosecution, or even the belief that the cover-up is justified by protecting the greater community from scandal. Yet, because of the passive cover-up, the misdeed often goes undiscovered and results in harm to others ensuing from its failure to be discovered.
Real cover-ups are common enough, but any event which is not completely clear is likely to give rise to a thicket of conspiracy theories alleging covering up of sometimes the weirdest and most unlikely conspiracies.
Typology
The following list is considered to be a typology since those who engage in cover-ups tend to use many of the same methods of hiding the truth and defending themselves. This list was compiled from famous cover-ups such as Watergate Scandal, Iran-Contra Affair, My Lai Massacre, Pentagon Papers, the cover-up of corruption in New York City under Boss Tweed (William M. Tweed and Tammany Hall) in the late 19th century, and the tobacco industry cover-up of the health hazards of smoking. The methods in actual cover-ups tend to follow the general order of the list below.
Initial response to allegation
Flat denial
Convince the media to bury the story
Preemptively distribute false information
Claim that the "problem" is minimal
Claim faulty memory
Claim the accusations are half-truths
Claim the critic has no proof
Attack the critic's motive
Attack the critic's character
Withhold or tamper with evidence
Prevent the discovery of evidence
Destroy or alter the evidence
Make discovery of evidence difficult
Create misleading names of individuals and companies to hide funding
Lie or commit perjury
Block or delay investigations
Issue restraining orders
Claim executive privilege
Delayed response to allegation
Deny a restricted definition of wrongdoing (e.g. torture)
Limited hang out(i.e., confess to minor charges)
Use biased evidence as a defense
Claim that the critic's evidence is biased
Select a biased blue ribbon commission or "independent" inquiry
Intimidate participants, witnesses or whistleblowers
Bribe or buy out the critic
Generally intimidate the critic by following him or her, killing pets, etc.
Blackmail: hire private investigators and threaten to reveal past wrongdoing ("dirt")
Death threats of the critic or his or her family
Threaten the critic with loss of job or future employment in industry
Transfer the critic to an inferior job or location
Intimidate the critic with lawsuits or SLAPP suits
Murder; assassination
Publicity management
Bribe the press
Secretly plant stories in the press
Retaliate against hostile media
Threaten the press with loss of access
Attack the motives of the press
Place defensive advertisements
Buy out the news source
Damage control
Claim no knowledge of wrongdoing
Scapegoats: blame an underling for unauthorized action
Fire the person(s) in charge
Win court cases
Hire the best lawyers
Hire scientists and expert witnesses who will support your story
Delay with legal maneuvers
Influence or control the judges
Reward cover-up participants
Hush money
Little or no punishment
Pardon or commute sentences
Promote employees as a reward for cover-up
Reemploy the employee after dust clears
In criminal law
Depending on the nature of cover-up activities, they may constitute a crime in certain jurisdictions.
Perjury (actively telling lies to the court, as opposed to refusing to answer questions) is considered a crime in virtually all legal systems. Likewise, obstruction of justice, that is, any activity that aims to cover-up another crime, is itself a crime in many legal systems.
The United States has the crime of making false statements to a federal agent in the context of any matter within the federal jurisdiction, which includes "knowingly and willfully" making a statement that "covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact".
Examples
The Dreyfus Affair
Armenian genocide denial
Katyn massacre
The Iran–Contra affair
The Luzhniki disaster
The Chernobyl disaster
The My Lai Massacre
The Roman Catholic sex abuse cases of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
The Watergate scandal
Russian doping scandals
Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal
Alleged cover-ups
Conspiracy theories generally include an allegation of a cover-up of the facts of some prominent event. Examples include:
John F. Kennedy assassination
TWA Flight 800 conspiracy theories
Korean Air Lines Flight 007 alternate theories
M/S Estonia
New World Order
Pusztai affair
Roswell incident
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
Attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi
UFOs in general
Mamasapano clash
Death of Jeffrey Epstein
Origin of COVID-19
2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage
2023 Ohio train derailment
See also
References
External links
The dictionary definition of cover-up at Wiktionary
Media related to Concealment at Wikimedia Commons- Source: Cover Up
Cover Up, or variants, often refers to:
Cover-up, concealment of a scandal
Cover-up tattoo, a tattoo that covers a previous tattoo, a scar, or a skin condition
Bathrobe or outerwear wrap, worn over bathing suits, lingerie, or nightwear
Concealer, a kind of makeup
Cover Up, or variants, may also refer to:
Film and television
Cover Up (1949 film), a mystery film by Alfred E. Green with Dennis O'Keefe, William Bendix, Barbara Britton
Cover Up (TV series), a television spy drama on CBS from 1984 to 1985
Cover Up (The Price Is Right), a segment game from The Price Is Right
"The Cover-Up" (The Office), an episode of The Office
"The Cover-Up" (Modern Family), a 2016 episode
Literature
Cover Up (novel), a 2007 children's mystery novel by John Feinstein
Cover Up, a 2005 novel by John Francome
Cover Up: What the Government Is Still Hiding About the War on Terror a 2004 non-fiction book by Peter Lance
Music
Cover Up (Ministry album), 2008
Cover Up (UB40 album), 2001, or the title song
Cover Ups, a 2002 album by Good Riddance
The Cover Up (album), a 2004 album by I Am the World Trade Center, or the title song
The Cover Up, a 2014 EP and 2015 cover album from The Protomen
"Cover Up", a song by Imagine Dragons from the EP Imagine Dragons and the deluxe edition of Night Visions
"The Cover Up", a song by Scenes from a Movie from The Pulse, 2007
See also
"Covering Up", an episode of As Time Goes By
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