Scandal - Definition and Overview

A scandal involves widely publicized allegations of wrong-doing, disgrace or moral outrage. A scandal may be based on reality, or the product of false allegations.

Some scandals are broken by a whistle-blower revealing wrongdoing within an organization or a group. Falsely alleged scandals can lead to a witch-hunt against the innocent. Often, an attempt to cover-up a scandal ignites a greater scandal when the cover-up fails. Classes of scandals include political scandals, sex scandals, academic scandals, and sporting scandals (especially Olympic Games scandals). America in the 1950s was swept by a wave of quiz show scandals. Another major type of scandal is a corporate scandal, especially corporate accounting scandals. A wave of corporate accounting scandals swept United States companies in 2002 (see accounting scandals of 2002).

Lists of scandals

• List of academic scandals
• List of corporate scandals (includes accounting and mutual fund scandals)
• List of journalism scandals
• List of political scandals
• List of scandals of the Roman Catholic Church
• List of sex scandals
• List of sporting scandals
• List of "gate" scandals