muckraker
One who investigates and exposes issues of corruption that often violate widely held…One who investigates and exposes issues of corruption that often violate widely held values; e.g. one who exposes political corruption or the poor conditions in prisons.
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Meaning
3 senses(US)One who investigates and exposes issues of corruption that often violate widely held values; e.g. one who exposes political corruption or the poor conditions in prisons.
Muckraker, investigativer Journalist
(US, historical)One of a group of American investigative reporters, novelists and critics of the Progressive Era (the 1890s to the 1920s).
(UK, derogatory)A sensationalist, scandalmongering journalist, one who is not driven by any social principles.
- one who spreads real or alleged scandal about another (usually for political advantage)
Examples
1 sentencesWho is this muckraker?
Translations
2 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
From muck + raker. Believed to have been coined following a 1906 speech by United States PFrom muck + raker. Believed to have been coined following a 1906 speech by United States President Theodore Roosevelt, in which he likened the investigative journalist to ‘the Man with the Muck-rake’, a character in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress.
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Forms
plural: muckrakersSynonyms
2 synonyms- one who spreads real or alleged scandal about another (usually for political advantage):mudslinger