History Main / TheStoolPigeon

* In ''Literature/TheCountOfYears'', the spirit Ecaîas, jealous of his race's position as the pinnacle of creation, corrupts the animal kingdom so that predators attack prey, thereby hoping to make it impossible for [[{{God}} Iáinos]] to make mortals with physical bodies like intended. His sabotage is seen by Amnās, a minor spirit, who runs to Iáinos and tells him everything. However, Amnās didn't want to get Ecaîas in trouble, instead he wanted to gloat that [[NotSoOmnipotent a mere creature got one over on the creator]]. For this reason, they are both punished, and Amnās swears revenge on all creation.

* In ''Literature/TheCountOfYears'', the spirit Ecaîas, jealous of his race's position as the pinnacle of creation, corrupts the animal kingdom so that predators attack prey, thereby hoping to make it impossible for [[{{God}} Iáinos]] to make mortals with physical bodies like intended. His sabotage is seen by Amnās, a minor spirit, who runs to Iáinos and tells him everything. However, Amnās didn't want to get Ecaîas in trouble, instead he wanted to gloat that [[NotSoOmnipotentAfterAll a mere creature got one over on the creator]]. For this reason, they are both punished, and Amnās swears revenge on all creation.

'''Innocent Ingrid/Isaac''': A character who, along with other characters, has been involved in some activities that have gone rapidly downhill, and turns them in because of this. Maybe they never wanted to do anything bad but suddenly found themself caught up with people prepared and willing to do so, maybe their co-conspirators began doing things that they cannot stand, or maybe they honestly didn't know that their friends or co-workers were doing anything wrong and upon finding out, decide to turn them in.

'''Obedient Olga/Obadiah''': A character who spills the beans because he or she believes this is what a good citizen ought to do, [[NothingPersonal without any personal grudges or strained relationships]]. Because they hold no grudges, such a person simply blabs and immediately moves on. They may believe [[BlindObedience obedience to authority to be a virtue]] and any defiance of it is inherently wrong. They are neither TheMole nor a spy. They never had anything to do with whomever they ratted out in the first place, but simply discovered them and reported them the same way one might report a suspicious package to the police.

* In ''Anime/GuiltyCrown'', [[TheLancer Yahiro]] ends up selling out the protagonist to secure treatment for his sick little brother. Especially jarring since he used to be an admired friend of [[TheHero Shu's]], who was under the impression that they had successfully talked over their differences. Even after Yahiro returns to being a permanent member of Shu's group, the tension created by this event remains between them for most of the series, leading to several "Silence, Traitor!" moments.
* In the ''Manga/OnePiece'' anime {{Filler}}, one of the slaves on Tequila Wolf reports Robin to the others when being threatened with punishment, and is rewarded with a box of chocolates. She, however, is overcome with guilt, and gives it to Soran, who goes to give it to Robin.
* In Turn 19 of ''[[Anime/CodeGeass Code Geass R2]]'', [[spoiler:after Schneizel meets some resistance to the Black Knights in his efforts to goad the Black Knights into turning on Lelouch, Ohgi and Villetta's account of Lelouch's geass end up sealing the deal. Quite possibly a Petty Patty for Villetta, as she also could have [[MyCountryRightOrWrong just been doing her job as well]], and a misguided Whistleblower Wilson for Ohgi, considering [[QuoteMine some of]] [[FalseReassurance the evidence]]]]. The CompilationMovie more or less cuts out the majority of this part without affecting the result, possibly [[spoiler: turning Ohgi into a Concerned Corey who tries offering Lelouch a chance to actually explain himself.]]

* In ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'', Tamaki "Komo" Komoda is an Innocent Ingrid, since she is the one who tells the authorities about the kids piloting Zearth once it becomes clear what they've gotten involved in. In the manga, she goes to her father, who is an admiral, after a few battles have taken place. In the anime, while the group is being questioned by the police after the second battle, she tells them that they were piloting the robot.

* In ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis'', Wally West averts this trope, even though he'd fall squarely into the Whistleblower Wilson category, when he decides not to [[spoiler: tell Superman and Batman that a group of Justice League members have been wiping supervillains' memories via Zatanna to protect their secret identities, even when he learns they went so far as to effectively lobotomize Dr. Light and, when Batman found out and objected, mind-wiped him as well]].

However, the motivations of the snitch and how they're regarded in a story can vary wildly. Snitches have the reputation of being [[DirtyCoward cowardly weasels]], but there are times where a snitch can be responsible or heroic, if they report unethical or illegal activity done by authorities (in this case, they may be called a "whistleblower"). Due to the sheer prevalence of this trope, there are several important variations:

'''Obnoxious Olivia/Oscar:''' A kid character that tattles on someone else for ... well, the thousands of reasons why kids like getting people in trouble. Usually played for laughs, but can sometimes can be taken more seriously, especially if the kid is a young whistleblower or is called a liar.

Snitches vary from GossipyHens because they're actually telling the truth and usually telling it to a recognised authority, whether it's a parent or the government. This can lead to a lot of problems, because no matter how much of a jerk a snitch might be, the characters wouldn't have gotten in trouble if they hadn't done something snitch-worthy in the first place.

* In ''Anime/GuiltyCrown'', [[TheLancer Yahiro]] ends up selling out the protagonist to secure treatment for his sick little brother. Especially jarring since he used to be an admired friend of [[TheHero Shu's]], who was under the impression that they had sucessfully talked over their differences. Even after Yahiro returns to being a permanent member of Shu's group, the tension created by this event remains between them for most of the series, leading to several "Silence, Traitor!" moments.

* In Turn 19 of ''[[Anime/CodeGeass Code Geass R2]]'', [[spoiler:after Schneizel meets some resistance to the Black Knights in his efforts to goad the Black Knights into turning on Lelouch, Ohgi and Villetta's account of Lelouch's geass end up sealing the deal. Quite possibly a Petty Patty for Villetta, as she also could have [[MyCountryRightOrWrong just been doing her job as well]], and a misguided Whistleblower Wilson for Ohgi, considering [[QuoteMine some of]] [[FalseReassurance the evidence]]]]. The CompilationMovie more or less cuts out the majority this part without affecting the result, possibly [[spoiler: turning Ohgi into a Concerned Corey who tries offering Lelouch a chance to actually explain himself.]]
* In the manga version of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', Kaji was a Betrayer Barry when he was a kid. He and his friends were stealing food and supplies from a military base. Kaji was caught, and gave up his friends to the soldiers to keep from being killed. The soldiers killed his friends, and he's been haunted by SurvivorGuilt ever since.

* Yoko Kamiya of Manga/TokimekiTonight is the epitome of the Petty Patty type. She takes an instant dislike to Ranze because Ranze has eyes for Shun, the boy Yoko loves, and in episode one of the anime gleefully turns both Shun and Ranze in for cheating on an exam. Both Shun and Ranze are told to stay after class, and while Ranze seethes, she notices Yoko giving her a SmugSnake grin, and makes an ugly face at her in retaliation.

* One of the things that keep the NaughtyIsGood characters in ''Comicbook/TheBeano'' looking like the good guys is that they're contrasted with characters like Cuthbert Cringeworthy and Walter, who are a combination of Petty Peter, Snobby Simon and Obnoxious Oliver.

* Severus Snape serves as this in ''Fanfic/InquisitorCarrowChronicles''. His main purpose in Voldemort's ranks was to produce healing potions and spy on Hogwarts, and that's where his involvement ended. He didn't know about Augustus Crabbe's depraved tastes or the means he used to "manufacture" [[NightmareFuel customized servants for his brothels]], and the instant he's informed, he grabs pen and paper and wastes no time in writing every single thing he knows about Britain's fouler potions masters, suppliers and clients.

* ''Film/TheInsider'' dramatizes the true story of Jeffrey Wigand, a former research scientist at Brown & Williamson, who famously testified (and simultaneously told his story on ''Series/SixtyMinutes'') about how the major tobacco companies not only knew about the harmful effects of smoking, but in many cases designed their products to be even more addictive (and more harmful than regular tobacco) in defiance of their claims that they had no knowledge of the health effects.

* The film version of ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' made Cho Chang into a Drug Debbie. Dumbledore's Army was initially angered at her betrayal, but then it is revealed that the only reason she squealed was because Umbridge fed her a drink laced with [[TruthSerums Veritaserum]], thus literally leaving Cho with no choice but to spit out the existence of Dumbledore's Army.

* Magneto was a Lacerated Larry in the beginning of ''Film/X2XMenUnited'': It is strongly implied that Stryker had arrived at Magneto's cell beforehand and injected him with the same brainwashing serum from his son to get him to lure Professor X into his prison so X could be captured.
* Detective Ed Exley in ''Film/LAConfidential'' is a mixture between being Disgruntled and a Whistleblower. In the former, Exley ends up ratting out his fellow officers to their Captain after he witness them conduct police brutality on captured crooks. Naturally [[TruthInTelevision this makes him unpopular with the other officers.]] Later in the movie, [[spoiler: he ends up going after his Captain as well after learning how corrupt he is.]]

* In ''Film/FortyFive'': Clancy is a snitch working for Big Al. He informs Al that Kat as been doing business with his rival Jose, and later implies that Kat and Jose are having sex.

** In ''Literature/TheHuntForRedOctober'', a young Marko Ramius was labeled a ''stukach'' (informer) after he told his father that a classmate's father was a dissident. That was a huge no-no in the Soviet Union, so the man disappeared, leaving Ramius' friend fatherless. The other kids found out and ostracized Ramius for it. His outcast status led him to meet an old sailor who was also outcast, and that began both his love of the sea and ships and his ideas of dissent. Ramius was technically an informer, but the treatment he receives is clearly unjustified because he didn't know what he was doing was wrong, he was horrified by the result, and he never did it again.

* In ''A Stainless Steel Rat is Born'', Jim, remembering how he decided to pursue a criminal career, recalls a childhood episode in which he framed an Obnoxious Oscar schoolmate for shoplifting. This lad was known to the student body as Smelly, and tattled on other children for the simple pleasure of it.

** Season 4's "Law and Disorder," where Bobby learns a lesson about how to handle responsibility, justice and discretion (i.e., when the right time to report wrongdoing and when to give latitude) after he is appointed a School Safety Monitor (or, as Bobby sulks initially, "should be 'Snitch Monitor'). Bobby takes his responsibilities way too seriously and thus becomes a stool pigeon.

* ''Series/DerryGirls'': Jenny Joyce is a principled rule follower who delights on informing on others, while Clare ends up telling on her friends out of fear.

** "Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist" had a Drug Doug type from the murder [[AssholeVictim "victim"]] of the week: The victim (an ex-cop who went renegade and started robbing armored trucks) is Denny Jardeen, who ends up having to go to Dr. Oliver Bloom for a chipped tooth that he gets in a scuffle with an armored car driver (in the resulting scuffle, both drivers were shot dead). As an ex-cop, Dr. Bloom is on Jardeen's medical plan. While going through the routine anesthesia, Jardeen, evidently under the anesthesia's influence, blabs to Dr. Bloom about the heist as well as the hiding place for the money, to which Dr. Bloom and his assistant Teri steal the money. Unfortunately, Jardeen, either from lingering memories of what happened, or having put two-and-two together, confronts them in their office while they are working on a patient, and he is killed when Teri strikes him with the roots of a giant plastic tooth after a fight. The patient Dr. Bloom is working on happens to be Randy, who tries to convince Stottlemeyer and Monk and anyone else around him that he saw the murder (Dr. Bloom cleans up the office after the fight and dumps the body as well).

* ''Series/{{Scandal}}'': Justice Verna Thornton becomes a Betrayer Belinda in "Blown Away". Vice President Sally Langston wants Verna out of her Supreme Court seat, while Verna has only a few months to live before she dies of cancer. So Verna offers her a choice: either take her resignation or take the paper revealing the identity of the President's shooter. Sally takes the identity revealing paper and Huck is arrested. Verna had put two and two together to figure out that Huck supposedly shot the President. Huck didn't do it, and Verna doesn't know that. So it's ambiguous if she was doing this to selfishly keep a job she only gets to have for a few months or if she did it because it's her duty to take down whoever shoots the President.

** Bubbles is a professional snitch for money, but his first foray in information gathering is inspired by revenge, after some Barksdale dealers beat up his friend Johnny. In season 3, Bubbles and Johnny get into an argument about the ethics of snitching for money and part ways.

** Avon Barksdale shaves six years off his seven year sentence by informing on CO Tilghman bringing in drugs that killed five inmates. The prison officials suspect he has more to do with the case than he lets on, but since they can't prove anyting, but do find drugs in Tilghman's car, they go with the easier prosecution.
** Frank Sobotka and the IBS have a strong code against snitching too, but after Ziggy gets arrested for murder, Frank agrees to co-operate with the investigators to help his son. This also ends badly, as word reaches the Greeks before he can answer any questions. After Frank's death, Nicky steps in and tells the authorities what he knows and is then put into to witness protection.
** White Mike takes little time to flip, but is also not shown to suffer any consequences for his actions.
** It is implied that The Greek is a protected informant to the FBI, trading information in exchange to protection to his own operation, with Agent Koutris sending him a warning when he is under investigation.

* "G-Code" by Music/GetoBoys is an anti-snitching anthem, specifically bringing up people who co-operate to reduce their own sentence.

* Lifesaver from ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' reported to [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Signas]] that Zero was actually getting stronger when infected with TheVirus. When Signas wisely decides not to act rashly, Lifesaver snitches to Zero's best friend X instead. The resulting misunderstanding and tension results in a battle between the two that nearly gets both friends killed.

* In ''VisualNovel/LuckyDog1'' Homer tries to persuade Gian, the player character, to become one of these as he falsely believes Gian (a member of the mafia) hates criminals due his parents being murdered and the criminal never getting caught. There's no option to become one as Gian is completely loyal to the mafia but there is an option to attack Homer, who told the guards to stay away from the room believing Gian would agree to be a rat.

* In ''VideoGame/PapersPlease'' we have the Antegrian Whistleblower, who exposes the heavy case of [[BigBrotherIsWatching domestic survelliance]] in her [[{{Dystopia}} home country]], who now seeks asylum in [[ALighterShadeOfGray Arstotzka]].

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'': [[spoiler:Shania is the Petty Patty and the Snobby Sara, having told Moebius, as well as the Agnus Castle garrison, about Noah and the party's plan to bust out Ghondor from the prison, all for jealously towards her and wanting to be a solider in the Forever War that Guernica[[note]]In Moebius's eyes, rudley[[/note]]interrupted, where she can be reborn again and again even if she died, compared to life in the City, where people get old, but die once. N, aka the original Noah [[LampshadeHanging even makes note of Shania's squealing]] when confronting the party after their shock of her doing so.]]

* [[BigBrotherBully Candace]] from ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' seems to vary between Snobby Sara, Obnoxious Oliva, Concerned Claire or Petty Patty, depending entirely on [[DependingOnTheWriter the writer]]. In the future, it's shown that her fascination with "busting" gets to the point where she goes pro and becomes a prosecutor.
* ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'': Zimbo, he not only acts as the Snorch's Familiar, he also acts as the Gromble's personal spy who reports back any unruly behavior by the other monsters, plus he's the only one who understands the Snorch's speech clearly which he'll eagerly exploit for his personal advantage. However, being the Gromble's spy doesn't exempt Zimbo from being punished or chastised, such as when he spread rumors that Ickis was going to explode due to his spontaneous combustibility and turned him into a pariah. Or the time he stalked and harassed Ickis by pretending to be a teddy bear from an animated movie which Ickis had been traumatized by.

** He has [[EvenEvilHasStandards reservations]], however. For one thing, he never tries to directly squeal on those who are higher up than him (such as King Bob), and gets legitimately angered at those who do end up doing something like that. In addition, in the ending of the movie ''School's Out'', Randall was noticeably disgusted with Fenwick desperately trying to avoid jail time by pinning his boss, Dr. Phillium Benedict, with the entire blame on the events of the movie, and even offering evidence for the state trial.
** In the episode where Principal Prickly is accidentally hypnotised to act like a six-year old, when TJ and his friends decide to keep it under wraps, Randall overhears them. Unlike most other times where he usually takes joy in snitching, his snitching about what happened to Prickly falls more under the Concerned Claire subtype, as he expresses genuine shock and horror and rushes to Finster to tell her of what happened.

** Frankie the Squealer/[[{{Expy}} Jimmy the Snitch]] of Fat Tony's gang. [[MeaningfulName The name(s)]] [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin speak for themselves.]] Frankie doesn't really fit any of the above archetypes, but rather has a compulsive urge to squeal ("It makes me feel big!").

** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E8BartTheDaredevil Bart the Daredevil]]": Despite trying to convince Bart the dangers of daredevil stunts, Lance Murdock is instead impressed by Bart's interest in it, which causes Lisa to tell Homer about it, fearing that he may get hurt or die despite getting the most attention.

* A ''WesternAnimation/PrivateSnafu'' short has Snafu bragging about a secret that he knows but won't tell. Unfortunately, he ended up becoming exceptionally drunk, and told the nearest woman in the tavern about his secret (being on a ship and its coordinates), who also turned out to be a Nazi spy, resulting in his death and being DraggedOffToHell. In other words, he acted as a Drug Doug on ''himself'' (loose lips sink ships, indeed). This cartoon can also be seen at the International Spy Museum.

** Frank Serpico know for the movie ''Film/{{Serpico}}'' brought up the deep corruptions within the New York Police Department.
** Sherron Watkins' examining of accounting irregularities led to the downfall of Enron.

* Snitches are pretty much universally loathed in criminal circles, and often the ugliest fates that a criminal syndicate can hand out are reserved for them. They're also among the [[PariahPrisoner worst treated in prison]], right down there with [[PaedoHunt pedophiles]], ex-cops and others.

However, the motivations of the snitch and how they're regarded in a story can vary wildly. Snitches have the reputation of being [[DirtyCoward cowardly weasels]], but there are times where a snitch can be responsible or heroic. Due to the sheer prevalence of this trope, there are several important variations:

* [[spoiler:Stelli]], in Paula Volsky's novel ''Illusion'', is somewhere between a Petty Patty and a Disgruntled Daria: She blames heroine Eliste [[spoiler:(for whom she used to work as a maid)]]for [[spoiler:being unable to save her fiancé's life]] (and in all fairness, Eliste ''tried'') and sells the noblewoman out to the revolution. [[spoiler:Eliste gets away.]]

** Another novel by [=DeClements=], ''No Place for Me'', is the story of a junior-high student named Copper who is sent to live with relatives while her mother is in rehab for alcoholism. The Stool Pigeon in this novel is Copper's cousin, an eight-year-old Petty Patty named Sarah, who's always getting into Copper's teen magazines and music tapes. One night Sarah tells on Copper for sneaking away to a roller rink she wasn't supposed to be at, and when Copper loses her temper and calls Sarah a nasty name, Sarah runs off in tears to tell her mother, who then throws Copper out of her house.

** Randy ends up giving the police a lead into Lex's murder, but because Herc accidentaly lets slip that they have a witness, Marlo's crew deduce who talked. Firt Randy gets ostracized and attacked at school for being a snitch, culminating in his home being firebombed. Randy ends up in a group home, and his reputation preceeds him, as his roommates tag "SNITCH" on his bunk bed and beat him up.

* ''Series/TheWire'': A major, recurring topic. "No Snitching" is a golden rule in the streets [[NotSoDifferent but also in the police]]. The dangers of testifying, and the City of Baltimore's lackluster treatment of witnesses is a key plot point in the Royce and Carcetti feud. Many characters tell for various reasons:

* ''FanFic/PokemonAMarvelousJourney'': A mix between a Concerned Claire and a Whistleblower Wilma in the fourth bonus chapter. When Lakeisha violates Merlin's privacy by filming a video of her meltdown without her knowledge or consent then sends it to her friends, one of those friends, Cindy, immediately reports it to one of the teachers and the principal so Lakeisha could face the consequences for her actions. She did it because she was disgusted at Lakeisha for violating her sister's privacy like that and because she wanted to nip the situation in the bid long before the issue got out of hand or the video was put on the internet.

** In ''Literature/TheHuntForRedOctober'', Marko Ramius was labeled a ''stukach'' (informer) after he told his father that a classmate's father was a dissident. That was a huge no-no in the Soviet Union, so the man disappeared, leaving Ramius' friend fatherless. The other kids found out and ostracized Ramius for it. His outcast status led him to meet an old sailor who was also outcast, and that began both his love of the sea and ships and his ideas of dissent. Ramius was technically an informer, but the treatment he receives is clearly unjustified because he didn't know what he was doing was wrong, he was horrified by the result, and he never did it again.

'''Concerned Claire/Corey:''' A character that turns in a friend or associate out of genuine concern for their well-being. Maybe their friend is sliding towards becoming a WellIntentionedExtremist, maybe they're compromising their cause, or maybe they're going to land themselves in jail ...[[DeathSeeker or worse]]. This character is willing to nobly [[WhatWereYouThinking take any hostility from their friend]], because they'd rather [[ForYourOwnGood see them alive and safe than continue what they were doing]]. Whether their concern is responsible or misguided can vary.

'''Whistleblower Wilma/Wilson:''' A character who sees a villain - [[WhatTheHellHero or even a hero]] - breaking the rules and turns them in because of [[TheFettered their own moral conscience]]. The most heroic of all snitches, many whistleblowers risk their friendships, careers, or even their lives to tell the truth.

'''Innocent Ingrid/Isaac''': A character who, along with other characters, has been involved in some activities that have gone rapidly downhill, and turns them in because of this. Maybe they never wanted to do anything bad but suddenly found themself caught up with people prepared and willing to do so, maybe their co-conspirators began doing things that they cannot stand, or maybe they honestly didn't know that their friends or co-workers were doing anything wrong and upon finding out, decide to turn them in.

** In one episode, when Eddy leads the other kids in breaking the rules, Double-D tells everyone's parents to restore order. Unfortunately, this results in Kevin, Rolf, and Johnny throwing the Eds into a cage.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': Lola is an Obnoxious Olivia, which is why her siblings never include her in their confession circle, where they share their naughtiest mistakes and misdeeds under oath of secrecy from their parents. Of course, their actions seem to be justified when Lola tries to retaliate by tattling to their mom about not being let in.