History Main / TheStoolPigeon

'''Betrayer Belinda/Barry:''' A character that [DirtyCoward sells out their own friends]] to [[DirtyCoward save his own skin]]. Maybe they've gotten caught and [[PleaBargain offered a plea deal]], maybe the authorities are offering incentives, or maybe they're [[{{Jerkass}} just jerks]]. Either way, this character can end up [[CementShoes in a lot of trouble]] if their friends find out what they did ...

* Severus Snape serves as this in ''Fanfic/InquisitorCarrowChronicles''. His main purpose in Voldemort's ranks was to produce high-quality 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.

'''Betrayer Belinda/Barry:''' A character that [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder sells out their own friends]] to save his own skin. Maybe they've gotten caught and [[PleaBargain offered a plea deal]], maybe the authorities are offering incentives, or maybe they're [[{{Jerkass}} just jerks]]. Either way, this character can end up [[CementShoes in a lot of trouble]] if their friends find out what they did ...

-->-- '''Kid Creole and the Coconuts''', "Stool Pigeon"

* ''Series/FBIMostWanted'': In "[[Recap/FBIMostWantedS01E04Caesar]]", Jess persuades a member of Cleo's gang to inform on her in exchange for getting his brother moved to a prison [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas closer to their invalid mother]]. When Cleo discovers this, she coldly puts a bullet in the back of his head.

* ''Series/FBIMostWanted'': In "Caesar", Jess persuades a member of Cleo's gang to inform on her in exchange for getting his brother moved to a prison [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas closer to their invalid mother]]. When Cleo discovers this, she coldly puts a bullet in the back of his head.

* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', when Corelle is found out to have [[spoiler: has sex with Balin Brindle]], she points at Jerin and tells Eldest that [[spoiler: Jerin was seduced by Ren.]] It doesn't work the way she wants to, though.

* ''Film/InsideMan'': [[spoiler: The reason for the owner of the bank not wanting his diamonds to be discovered, and the reason why the protagonist gets away with it.]].
* Used literally in ''Film/TheThreeStooges'' short Of Cash and Hash.

* ''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 60 Minutes) about how the mahor 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.

* ''Film/TheInsider'' is all about this.

[[caption-width-right:287: [[VisualPun "Oh, he did so do it. I taw him with my very own eyes. So there."]]]]

[[folder:Videogames]]

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'', there was [[TheStoolPigeon a Stool Pigeon]] that was a well, a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Stool Pigeon]]. His phrase of choice was "I'm Telling".

''But he couldn't buy any company''\\

[[caption-width-right:287: [[{{Pun}} "Oh, he did so do it. I taw him with my very own eyes. So there."]]]]

* In the ComicBook/ChickTract "The Last Generation", Bobby turns in his grandfather for being a Christian in order to get a reward. One of the Christians, Paul reveals the location of the cabin where Connie and Charles are hiding, afraid of being caught and tortured.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' episode "Girls Night In", when Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy see that Starfire and Raven snuck out of the tower, they suddenly become Obnoxious Oscars who track the girls down to report them to "Mom and Dad", who don't actually exist. This ends up interfering with the girls' fight with Blackfire and results in all of them being captured, but the boys completely fail to realize what's going on and only care about ratting Starfire and Raven out.

* Sarah from ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' is the Obnoxious Olivia, the Petty Patty, and the Snobby Sara depending on the episode. She is a SpoiledBrat who is favored by her mother more than [[TheUnfavorite Ed.]] She always threatens Ed to do her bidding or she'll "tell mom." It doesn't help that their mother just goes along with Sarah.

* 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.

* In one of the ''VideoGame/AnakshaFemaleAssassin'' Mini-Adventures, "Quick Stop", Melissa, the cashier of the convenience store Anaksha goes to in order to deal with her PottyEmergency is ratted out by Tracy, her rather crankish co-worker, to their boss for letting Anaksha use the employees-only bathroom, meaning that Anaksha has to help her not get fired for doing Anaksha her good turn. Tracy's motives for ratting Melissa out are a mix between Petty Patty and Snobby Sara; while Melissa did break a rule in order to help Anaksha, she also didn't much like Melissa to begin with and most likely did it to get back at her for having Anaksha copy her music collection onto her new [=MP3=] player.

* Used literally in the''Film/TheThreeStooges'' short Of Cash and Hash.