History Main / HaveYouToldAnyoneElse

* ''{{Supernatural}}''. Of course, it comes in handy when you know the other guy hasn't told anyone else because he's planning on killing you himself, in order to take credit for the information you've uncovered.

* ''{{Supernatural}}''. Of course, it comes in handy when you know the other guy hasn't told anyone else because he's planning on killing you himself.

Rather, they proudly(!) admit that they told Nialliv first, sometimes even adding, "I'm not stupid." For the one who noticed the hole in his EvilPlan, they aren't too bright, are they? (Admittedly, the reason's for telling only Nialliv tend to be something positive, like shaky proof, or information that might cause a panic/riots/mob violence targeting innocent people. If only Nialliv wasn't on TheDarkSide...) If they do say they told someone else, it's obvious that they just ''now'' realized their error, and are badly lying about it. Nialliv sees right through this. Actually, this has started to get subverted more these days. Especially if it's the hero doing it, they probably already have sent the information to all the major publishers, or have some backup plan. But then, that's usually only if they suspect the person.

# Occasionally there is another step: Why yes, there was ''one'' person you told, Mr. Dead-Meat. By amazing coincidence, Mr. Dead-Meat [[TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch accidentally shoots himself in the back of the head twice]] the next day. You are still alive because you're too dumb to connect the dots and there's probably some part of the EvilPlan [[UnwittingPawn you need to fulfill.]]

Always answer yes, ''especially'' if it isn't true, and ''especially especially'' if your place of employment has a [[BadBoss High Employee Turnover Rate]]. But you'll be dead anyway.

Always answer yes, ''especially'' if it isn't true, and ''especially especially'' if your place of employment has a [[BadBoss High Employee Turnover Rate.]]

-->'''Eddy's brother''' : Do Mom and Dad know you're here?
-->'''Eddy''' : As if.
-->'''Eddy's brother''' : Does ''anyone'' know you're here?
-->'''Eddy''' : Only these chumps who chased us here.

* In ''SupermanDoomsday'', LexLuthor does this to Mercy.

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0830.html #830]], [[CoDragons Tsukiko tells Redcloak]] that she's figured out that he's been deceiving [[BigBad Xykon]]- the ritual to 'control' the [[EldritchAbomination Snarl]] won't have the effect Xykon expects - then boasts about how she'll use that information to ruin him. Redcloak (who, as a 17th level evil cleric, can automatically Command any Undead with 9 HD or less, such as Tsukiko's wights) promptly orders Tsukiko's undead thralls to seize her, devour her [[LifeEnergy life force]], then eat her corpse. Then eat each other. Then commit suicide.

* Subverted in ''Series/TheXFiles'' when AD Skinner wishes to make a deal with the Cigarette Smoking Man about a tape containing classified information. CSM tells Skinner his deal has one problem (namely that CSM is holding Skinner at gun point and can be easily killed and searched) at which point Skinner reveals his trump. He has had a Navajo translator read and memorize all the information on the tape and orally tell it to twenty other tribal leaders throughout the United States who are all ordered to testify said information should any one of the people in the group die. CSM, who does not wish to have all the info revealed or to kill all the people necessary to keep them silent, agrees to the deal. Further subverted in that it is implied that the original translator had no idea why Skinner asked him to come and help make the deal.

* In one episode of ''{{Robocop}}'', a scientist has a EurekaMoment, and chooses to drive across town to bounce his idea off of an older scientist mentioned earlier in the episode. Said idea is that someone framed Robocop using the prototype of his signature gun. Trope applies per usual, then the older man promptly pulls said prototype out of a drawer. No, don't [[FridgeLogic wonder why the scientist didn't just Google, why he wouldn't know in the first place, or why he wouldn't just call on one of the videophones frequently used in the series]]. In a minor subversion, he hadn't told anyone his idea, but he had mentioned where he was going, allowing Robocop to save him.

* TheChessmaster in the last ''EmpireFromTheAshes'' book pulls this off; it helps that the victim is a complete ''idiot'' about it. "I need to ''urgently'' tell the governor about the mole I placed in the terrorist organization, even though nothing's happening right now. This is on a strictly need-to-know basis, so don't tell anyone. Why no, no I ''haven't'' told anyone else. Leave a message? Sure! Here's the datachip with all the information, as well as the codes to decrypt it." (To be fair about this, the bad guy in question is [[spoiler: the governor's immediate deputy]], and in fact the victim reports directly to him. Lack of suspicion is unsurprising.)

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0830.html #830]], Tsukiko tells Redcloak that she's figured out that he's been deceiving Xykon- the ritual to 'control' the [[EldritchAbomination Snarl]] won't have the effect Xykon expects - then boasts about how she'll use that information to ruin him. Redcloak (who, as an 18th level evil cleric, can automatically Command any Undead with 9 HD or less, such as Tsukiko's wights) promptly orders Tsukiko's undead thralls to seize her, devour her [[LifeEnergy life force]], then eat her corpse. Then eat each other. Then commit suicide.

* Inverted in ''EdenOfTheEast''. [[BigBad Mononobe]] plans to convert [[TheHero Takizawa Akira]] to his side, and explains his EvilPlan to him. In a moment of [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy extreme genre-savviness]], Takizawa had called his LoveInterest just before meeting up with the BigBad and LEAVES HIS PHONE ON SO SHE CAN LISTEN IN! TheStinger? Mononobe thinks Takizawa can't do anything to avert his EvilPlan, and lets him go when he can't convert him. [[IdiotBall WHAT AN IDIOT!]]
* In ''TigerAndBunny'', Maverick asks Barnaby if anyone else was there when Barnaby learned of Jake Martinez's alibi for his parents' murder. In this case, the answer really ''is'' yes - Barnaby's partner Kotetsu was also present - but since Maverick [[spoiler:has the ability to alter people's memories]], he's not really all that worried. It ''does'' help Barnaby in the long run, though, as Kotetsu proves to be much more of a SpannerInTheWorks than Maverick anticipated.

* Subverted in {{Batman}} comics - Lucius Fox tells LexLuthor that he knows about Luthor buying large amounts of Gotham City for a fraction of the price, and informs him that yes, people know where he is and yes, he has made copies of the data. He still would have been killed by Mercy Graves if Batman hadn't been watching his back though.

* Subverted in ''HarryPotter/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', when an old Muggle caretaker named Frank inadvertently stumbles upon a strange person who was previously discussing various murders. Frank, when confronted, pretends that he has a wife at home who knows where he went and who will call the police if he does not come home. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, double subverted in that the strange murderer is Voldemort, who has no problem telling that it is a lie.]]

* In the first ''RainbowSix'' game, this happened to a medical expert you already rescued once. When she realizes the origins of the virus a [[AnimalWrongsGroup terrorist group]] plans to release, she calls one of your other advisors, who asked her this. After she says no, several terrorists come knocking on her doorstep.

!!Examples:

[[folder:Film]]

* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'': After Mr. Waternoose hears the full story of the incident from Mike, he asks, "Does anyone else know about this?"
** That's a terrific moment, due to the business headaches Waternoose has been dealing with since the opening of the movie. The line seems innocuous enough right up until [[spoiler:the Banishment Door shows up and Waternoose shoves Mike and Sully through.]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* The opening of the film ''RedDragon''. Late at night, FBI Agent Will Graham goes to meet with Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who had been assisting him in developing a psychological profile of a serial killer. Agent Graham tells Dr. Lecter that he suddenly realized that the killer was ''eating'' parts of his victims. Lecter replies, "Have you shared this information with the Bureau?"

* DoubleSubverted in an episode of ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' when Sherlock tells the BigBad that he's worked out what his and his associates' plan was during a counterterrorism exercise.[[labelnote:context]]The BigBad was on the team playing the terrorists, and the results terrified the government to the point where they had the results of the exercise classified top secret rather than published as they usually were.[[/labelnote]] The BigBad asks him this, and Sherlock tells him that wrote it down ''and'' told several friends [[spoiler:when he really hadn't]].

** Also happens in a later episode when 21 of Eureka's scientists are trapped in a Matrix-like simulation of the town. One of them has a EurekaMoment (no pun intended) and realizes that the strange things they've been seeing are actually example of AGlitchInTheMatrix and figures out the truth. Unfortunately, the people who trapped them are monitoring everything and unplug her with fatal consequences. [[spoiler:[[IGotBetter She gets better]]]].

* Subverted in ''VForVendetta'', when Sutler asks Finch if anyone else has read Delia's diary. Finch answers no, but Sutler just tells him he'd better forget about it.