Editing Cover-up (section)

{{short description|Attempt to conceal evidence}}
{{Redirect|Snowjob||Snow Job (disambiguation){{!}}Snow Job}}
{{Other uses|Cover Up (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
[[File:"An ostrich only thinks he "covers up." - NARA - 513846.jpg|thumb|upright|"An [[ostrich]] only thinks he 'covers up'."]]

A '''cover-up''' is an attempt, whether successful or not, to [[:wikt:conceal|conceal]] evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other [[embarrassment|embarrassing]] information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational cover-ups (covering up someone else's misdeeds).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kundro|first1=Timothy|title=Understanding When and Why Cover-Ups Are Punished Less Severely |journal=Academy of Management Journal|date=2021 |volume=64 |issue=3 |pages=873–900 |doi=10.5465/amj.2018.1396 |s2cid=218805378 |url=https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/amj.2018.1396|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The expression is usually applied to people in positions of [[authority]] who [[Abuse of power|abuse power]] to avoid or silence [[criticism]] or to deflect [[guilt (law)|guilt]] of wrongdoing. Perpetrators of a cover-up (initiators or their allies) may be responsible for a misdeed, a [[Breach of duty in English law|breach of trust or duty]], or a crime.