as in informers
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing
the FBI is working closely with informants to find out about the subversive group
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Recent Examples of informants
In 2020, for example, the high court ruled that Muslim men who claimed that their religious rights were violated for being placed on the government’s no-fly list after refusing to serve as FBI informants could sue the FBI agents for damages.
—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
23 June 2026
More recently, the Department of Justice charged the Southern Poverty Law Center — a civil rights nonprofit accused by Republicans of targeting conservatives in its work tracking extremists — with defrauding donors through payments to informants.
—
James Pollard,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2026
Jordan cited accusations that paid informants associated with the organization’s former field-source program encouraged participation in extremist events while working undercover inside hate groups.
—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
9 June 2026
Greylord was a watershed moment in its use of eavesdropping devices and a mole to obtain evidence instead of relying on wrongdoers to become government informants.
—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
6 June 2026
The charges do not stem from the general practice of paying informants but from the Justice Department's allegations that the SPLC made these payments without disclosing the practice to donors and by defrauding banks.
—
Sarah N. Lynch,
CBS News,
3 June 2026
Sandweg said one of the director's most underappreciated responsibilities is managing that internal fault line, ensuring that ERO's highly visible arrest operations do not undermine HSI's ability to cultivate the confidential informants and foreign partnerships on which its work depends.
—
Philip Wang,
Time,
18 May 2026
The Justice Department accuses the group of fraud in connection with its payments to informants.
—
Ella Lee,
The Hill,
6 May 2026
Paying informants is not a crime, and the government has provided no evidence that the SPLC’s donors were duped about the SPLC’s practice of sending such payments, which is the foundation of the wire-fraud allegation.
—
Quinta Jurecic,
The Atlantic,
3 May 2026
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
23 June 2026
More recently, the Department of Justice charged the Southern Poverty Law Center — a civil rights nonprofit accused by Republicans of targeting conservatives in its work tracking extremists — with defrauding donors through payments to informants.
—
James Pollard,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2026
Jordan cited accusations that paid informants associated with the organization’s former field-source program encouraged participation in extremist events while working undercover inside hate groups.
—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
9 June 2026
Greylord was a watershed moment in its use of eavesdropping devices and a mole to obtain evidence instead of relying on wrongdoers to become government informants.
—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
6 June 2026
The charges do not stem from the general practice of paying informants but from the Justice Department's allegations that the SPLC made these payments without disclosing the practice to donors and by defrauding banks.
—
Sarah N. Lynch,
CBS News,
3 June 2026
Sandweg said one of the director's most underappreciated responsibilities is managing that internal fault line, ensuring that ERO's highly visible arrest operations do not undermine HSI's ability to cultivate the confidential informants and foreign partnerships on which its work depends.
—
Philip Wang,
Time,
18 May 2026
The Justice Department accuses the group of fraud in connection with its payments to informants.
—
Ella Lee,
The Hill,
6 May 2026
Paying informants is not a crime, and the government has provided no evidence that the SPLC’s donors were duped about the SPLC’s practice of sending such payments, which is the foundation of the wire-fraud allegation.
—
Quinta Jurecic,
The Atlantic,
3 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for informants
informers
Noun
-
One of State Security’s main goals, as well as a central source of its strength, is turning civilians into informers.
-
And so every regime invests in having student informers.
Cite this Entry
“Informants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/informants. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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