History Main / TreacheryCoverUp

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/51301309/chapters/129622393?view_adult=true Dragon Princess]]: After [[PointOfDivergence Oden successfully kills Kaido in battle]] and from there bring down Kurozomi Orochi now that he lacked the emperor's backing and the threat against Wano, [[spoiler:Kanjuro]], the Kurozomi clan's spy, recognized the ultimate fall of his clan and choose to [[GloriousDeath embrace his current role as one of Oden's subordinates by attacking King and dying in a blaze of glory]], leading Oden to retaliate and injure King enough to force the pirate to leave. When Whitebeard and Oden meet up after the latter's victory, they both reminisce on [[spoiler:Kanjuro's]] devotion to his lord and hope that he is at rest, never finding out that he was sent to spy on Oden by Orochi.

* 'Anime/PatlaborTheMovie'': The true source of the malfunctioning labors is whitewashed so the Japanese government will not be disgraced. The corporation that built the faulty labor robots has given the government massive support and money.

* ''Anime/UnGo'' - Only reason why is Shinjuurou called "Defeated Detective"

* The Invisible Man's decision to sell out humanity to aliens was covered up in ''Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen''. "Covered up" means Hyde raped him to death.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': After Haazen's manipulations are revealed in ''Comicbook/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', the Jedi realize that they cannot let anyone know a Sith rose within their own ranks, or that he was able to spark a small-scale civil war. So they keep it a secret amongst themselves and blame the damage to the Coruscant Jedi Temple on the Mandalorians.

* ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'': Even though she was TheMole, the Titans gave Terra a hero's funeral and kept her betrayal of the team a secret after her death.
%%* ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'', even if it is a ''little'' more complicated...%%ZCE

* ''[[Anime/{{Patlabor}} Patlabor: The Movie]]'': The true source of the malfunctioning labors is whitewashed so the Japanese government will not be disgraced. The corporation that built the faulty labor robots has given the government massive support and money.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'': Team Castle agrees to cover up [[spoiler:Captain Montgomery's]] shameful past because of his years spent as TheAtoner. Plus, [[NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead he's dead]].

* Zigzagged in the ''Fanfic/AlternateTailSeries'' regarding Laxus (who takes Jellal's place as the puppet leader of the Tower of Heaven). While Mira is honest to Kagura about some of the actions that Laxus committed, she withholds that he killed Simon, Kagura's brother, when the latter tried to protect Mira, instead telling her that it was the mastermind controlling Laxus that was responsible. This is because Kagura thought that the same Laxus helped her years ago in her search for her brother before dropping her off at Cait Shelter.

* ''Fanfic/ObitoSensei'': [[spoiler:The Uchiha's planned coup against the Hokage and the Damiyo was covered up following Itachi's massacre of the clan. Mikoto, one of the masterminds, is allowed to continue to lead the Uchiha Clan following her husband's death and her eldest son's defection]].

%%* ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'': used frequently to avoid severe political consequences.%%ZCE
* The second ''Manga/DeathNote'' movie ends with a coverup. [[spoiler:Light's family is led to believe that he died trying to stop Kira]].

** Played straight in episodes 19 and 20 of R2. [[spoiler:Upon being confronted with what they believe to be the evidence of Zero's betrayal of their cause, the Black Knights attempt to execute Lelouch as a traitor. So as not to tarnish Zero's image as the symbol of resistance, they cover it up by reporting that he died heroically in the battle for Tokyo.]] A curious example, in that the conspirators believe that they are covering up their victim's betrayal, the treachery they are covering up is their own, [[KangarooCourt given the circumstances]].
* Inverted in ''Manga/OnePiece''. After the supposedly-government-allied pirate Crocodile was exposed, the World Government didn't bother to cover it up. They did, however, cover up the fact that ''another'' pirate crew resolved the issue by giving credit to a Marine who had conveniently been tailing the heroes, because a rogue pirate beating a government-aligned pirate, traitor or not, would be a source of deep embarrassment. Smoker, said Marine, was less than happy about it.
** Played straight with Gecko Moria later on. Whatever his plans, they were never so public that the World Government couldn't deny it, and they were in fact more concerned about his image as a powerful pirate being tarnished when they had already lost two of their allied pirates already.
** [[DefiedTrope Defied]] by Admiral Fujitora at the end of the Dressrosa arc. After hearing the aforementioned Smoker's frustrations about the Alabasta incident, he ensured that the government could not repeat this for Dressrosa (and give him the credit) by publicly broadcasting the truth (that the Straw Hats and their allies were the ones who brought down the Donquixote Family and saved the kingdom) to all neighboring islands ''before'' reporting the incident to his superior, meaning that the Government has no choice but to publicly acknowledge the real version of the story. Said superior -- Fleet Admiral Sakazuki/Akainu -- was ''not'' happy.

* ''[[Anime/{{Patlabor}} Patlabor: The Movie]]'': The true source of the malfunctioning labors is whitewashed so the Japanese government will not be disgraced. The corporation that built the faulty labor robots has given the government massive support and money.

* This happened in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' with [[spoiler:the planned coup by the Uchiha clan. Itachi [[ZeroApprovalGambit killed them without exposing their treachery in order to keep their reputation from being tarnished, and to give Sasuke a target for his anger]].]] It... didn't work out so well.
* In the later manga chapters of ''Manga/ElfenLied'', it is revealed that the Japanese government at last tumbled to the fact that something was not right with Chief Kakuzawa and his Diclonius Research Institute, and began a venture called Saseba to monitor his activities, eventually infiltrating and turning operatives inside the Institute. While part of this was done to stop Kakuzawa (and he needed stopping), the bigger part of the effort was to keep quiet that Japan had ever sponsored this madman. Given what Kouta relates in the very final chapter, their success in covering up is left unclear.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* In ''FanFic/DirtySympathy'' this is why [[spoiler:Edgeworth]] won't extradite Klavier and Apollo back to the U.S. All their cases would be put into question, endangering innocents like Wocky Kitaki and Vera Misham. Their convictions could be overturned, which could allow [[spoiler:Kristoph]] his freedom since his initial conviction is dependent on a crime he didn't commit and Phoenix would lose his creditability and the progress he made.

* ''Fanfic/ObitoSensei'': [[spoiler:The Uchiha's plan coup against the Hokage and the Damiyo was covered up following Itachi's massacre of the clan. Mikoto, one of the masterminds, is allowed to continue to lead the Uchiha Clan following her husband's death and her eldest son's defection]].

[[folder:Film]]

* The entire premise of Creator/GKChesterton's short story ''[[Literature/FatherBrown Sign of the Broken Sword]]'' (1910), which may be one of the earliest examples of this trope. The motivations of those covering up are neatly summarized by Father Brown:
--> And then, for the honour of England and of his daughter, they took an oath to seal up for ever the story... Perhaps — Heaven help them — they tried to forget it.
** The same plot shows up in ''[[Literature/TheManWhoKnewTooMuch The Bottomless Well]]''. A famous general tries to assassinate a friend who he believes is making advances on his wife, but due to an accidental PoisonedChaliceSwitcheroo manages to kill himself instead. Since the political consequences of revealing the general's crimes would be unacceptable, his death is covered up as an accident.
* In ''Literature/SevenDaysInMay'', the President decided that what had happened must never become public knowledge, in order to preserve the idea that a MilitaryCoup against the United States government is simply unthinkable.
* Creator/JohnRingo: used in the Literature/PaladinOfShadows Series. Information on a rape/sex slave ring used by politicians from multiple nations is entrusted to the Kildar since public exposure will topple several governments.
* ''Literature/JamesBond''
** The death of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Chiffre Le Chiffre]] in ''Literature/CasinoRoyale'' is published as a suicide to focus attention on his trade union. Destroying the communist supported labor union and the French communist party is more important than confronting the Soviet Union. The Soviet assassin who kills Le Chiffre says that the publication of his gambling and embezzlement has undermined communist prestige in the NATO nations.
** When Drax's habit of cheating at cards is found out in ''Literature/{{Moonraker}}'', James Bond is put against him to teach him a lesson instead of causing a scandal out of it, as it could jeopardize the Moonraker project.

* This happens in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}''. Teppic, the current Pharaoh of Djelibeybi, always believed his was a noble lineage. However, in a prophetic dream, when he meets the founder of the nation, he finds [[spoiler:the founder was a camel thief who was running away from guards]]. Suffice it to say, he never tells anyone this, even Ptraci who eventually [[spoiler:becomes Pharaoh in his stead]].
* ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.S._Seawolf_(novel) U.S.S. Seawolf]]'': The president of the United States prevents his son, Linus Clark from being court-martialed for negligence. Despite the official story, many in the military know the truth and lose all trust in the current administration.
* ''Literature/JackRyan'':
** ''Literature/TheHuntForRedOctober'': The defection of the Red October is covered up so the American military maintains a strategic advantage.
** ''Literature/TheCardinalOfTheKremlin'': The defection of [[spoiler:Nikolay Borissovich Gerasimov]] is covered up by the American and Soviet governments to avoid political problems with an arms control treaty. Several Soviet characters state that the court-martial of 'Cardinal' might not be possible since he is a war hero.
* Prince Serg in Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/ShardsOfHonor'':
** Cordelia Naismith's issues in the latter part of the book are primarily due to the fact that she worked out how the whole war was a smokescreen for the Barrayaran Emperor to assassinate his own son and dare not let that information leak even to well-meaning therapists on her own side.
** Emperor Ezar himself sets things up for his son to die a war hero (along with ~5000 of his own soldiers, half the Barrayaran fleet, etc.) rather than hold him openly responsible for crimes ranging from DomesticAbuse to [[TheEvilPrince involvement in regicidal plots]] in order to more thoroughly purge Serg's enablers and avoid politically complicating backlash on his only grandson & heir Gregor.
* In Creator/HBeamPiper's story [[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18814/18814-h/18814-h.htm "The Mercenaries"]], the leader of a freelance scientific research team executes a traitor in their midst. The death is passed off as a suicide to protect the team (and incidentally assures that the deceased will be remembered for his genuine scientific contributions). It's understood that the ''real'' story will be read between the lines... thereby protecting the team's reputation for trustworthiness and ability to take out its own trash.

** ''Literature/HonorHarrington''

** ''Literature/{{Safehold}}''
*** When the Duke of Tirian is revealed to be a traitor and attempts to kill Earl Grey Harbor his treachery isn't concealed but the BodyguardBetrayal by Grey Harbor's guardsman is covered up. They need a way to downplay Merlin's involvement in rescuing Grey Harbor and claiming that the guardsman fought alongside Merlin to protect Grey Harbor makes the story less unbeleiveable.
* At the end of Creator/DanAbnett's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''Blood Pact'', Gaunt is assured that [[spoiler:Rime's]] death at Rawne's hands is being passed off as an honorable death in battle. [[spoiler:He's glad not to have the Inquisition breathing down his neck for killing an Inquisitor.]]

* In ''Literature/StarTrekMereAnarchy'', the capital of planet Mestiko is named vosTraal in honour of a native leader, Traal. According to the history books, Traal sacrificed himself to save the planet. What those books leave out is that this was in fact a HeelFaceTurn and he was originally a traitor, allied with the Klingons. Only when he realized that the Klingons cared nothing for his people and would gladly sacrifice his tribe did he turn on them. In order to keep the troubled planet united, this is obscured from history in favour of an entirely heroic portrait.
* Twisted a bit in ''Literature/TheElenium''. The person who's been blackmailed into trying to murder Sparhawk for half a book [[CyanidePill takes poison]] before confessing, and expects to be outed as a traitor. Instead, Sparhawk and Kurik arrange matters so everyone will think one of the besieging army shot him.
* A lot of things that Literature/JackReacher gets involved in wind up with him killing the bad guy and walking away in the sunset with someone else getting credit for what he did, or no explanation at all.
* ''Literature/TheFourthProtocol''. TheChessmaster head of British Intelligence covers up a FalseFlagOperation involving a government minister because it makes more sense to FeedTheMole. On discovering a Soviet plan to detonate a nuclear bomb on British soil, he covers that up as well in an unspoken agreement with his KGB opposite number (in exchange for information to end the plot), because exposure of the plan could heat up the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and invite Soviet retaliation.
* This is deconstructed in ''Literature/{{Serpico}}''. The protagonist is regularly told that the NYPD can and should "clean its own laundry", but its method of doing so is just to transfer a DirtyCop to another unit, where he often continues his activities with other corrupt police in that unit. It's only when Serpico goes public that something is done.

* In ''Literature/TheGodsThemselves'', Hallam is guilty of stealing the work of other scientists, ruining at least two careers due to personal grudges, and hindering all attempts to save Earth from a supernova for the sake of prestige. In the end, after the heroes succeed in preventing the supernova, it is mentioned that Hallam will lose most of his influence, but will probably retain some honorable position and won't be prosecuted... exposing the [[FakeUltimateHero greatest genius of humanity]] as a total fraud will cause too much damage to the prestige of science.
* In ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
** When Hollyleaf apparently dies in the tunnels after trying to escape from her Clan and everything that had gone wrong, Lionblaze and Jayfeather cover up her treachery by telling the Clan she had died chasing a squirrel into the tunnel so that she would be remembered as a brave hunter rather than Ashfur's killer.
** It's hard to judge whether or not they did this for [[spoiler:Hawkfrost]]. They did cover up the fact that [[spoiler:Brambleclaw]] killed him, but there is conflicting evidence on whether or not they covered up why he was killed. In ''The Sight'', some warriors have a conversation about the mysterious circumstances of his death and say that his Clanmates mourned him, and [=RiverClan=] seems relatively ignorant of his treachery in other books, which would suggest he did get a cover-up. But then in ''After Sunset: We Need To Talk'', Cloudtail says to a [=WindClan=] patrol [[spoiler:that Hawkfrost tried to kill Firestar]], which suggests everyone knows about it.
** The Clan does not reveal [[spoiler:Ashfur]]'s treachery after ''Long Shadows'', nor Tigerstar's after he is exiled in ''Forest of Secrets'', possibly because it will make their Clan seem weak.

* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', the public is not informed that [[spoiler:Armsmaster]] is actually under house arrest for [[spoiler:violating the truce during the Leviathan attack]].
** The trope also gets played with: [[spoiler:Alexandria's]] true crimes are covered up with a ''different'' set of crimes, because [[spoiler:she was a renowned hero, and the government wanted to avoid people being dispirited by her death, but couldn't afford to expose her true actions.]]
* In ''Literature/LastFlight'', [[spoiler:the Antivan royal guard mutiny en masse, murdering King Elaudio and a great many of his nobles for failing to evacuate Antiva City before the darkspawn could lay siege to it, ensuring a massacre when the city is inevitably sacked. After the Grey Wardens defeat the mutineers, a cover story is given out that King Elaudio was killed in battle defending his city from the darkspawn to preserve morale]].
* Inverted in ''Literature/HowARealistHeroRebuiltTheKingdom''. The fact that [[spoiler:Georg Carmine]] was not a traitor to his country was covered up, since his betrayal served as a useful cover for getting rid of many other people who actually were treasonous. It's eventually revealed to the public that he wasn't actually a traitor, though a few sensitive details are still kept secret.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'': Team Castle agrees to cover up [[spoiler:Captain Montgomery's]] shameful past because of his years spent as TheAtoner. Plus, [[NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead he's dead.]]

* Happens in ''VideoGame/SuikodenI''; [[spoiler:[[TheMole Sanchez]]]] is exposed at a vital point for the rebellion, and the game's strategist orders that their treachery be concealed (with the rest of the cast forcing them to play their role) because the knowledge of a high-ranking traitor would undermine confidence. Even after the game's end, they are eventually secretly 'pardoned' (but exiled to a single city and never genuinely forgiven) because the revelation that one of the heroes of the revolution was a traitor would be dangerous for the stability of the new republic. [[spoiler:However, the fact that he's a high ranking character with no Star of Destiny who constantly offers the main character alcohol should have been a give away if you were paying attention from the beginning.]]

* Prince Serg in Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/ShardsOfHonor''. Cordelia Naismith's issues in the latter part of the book are primarily due to the fact that she worked out how the whole war was a smokescreen for the Barrayaran Emperor to assassinate his own son and dare not let that information leak even to well-meaning therapists on her own side.

* ''Film/{{Assassination}}'': The mastermind behind the assassination attempts on the First Lady is a [[spoiler:high-ranking White House official]]. His death is reported as a medical condition to avoid a scandal. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_(1987_film)]]

* ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'': used frequently to avoid severe political consequences.

* ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'', even if it is a ''little'' more complicated...

[[folder:Fan Fic]]

* ''Series/BabylonFive''
** Jha’dur states she will escape a trial since none of the major galactic nation-states wants her to expose their collaboration with the Dilgar or they want her immortality drug.

* [[Series/{{Castle}} Team Castle]] agrees to cover up [[spoiler:Captain Montgomery's]] shameful past because of his years spent as TheAtoner. Plus, [[NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead he's dead.]]

* In the ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' episode "Ariel", Jayne, about to be ThrownOutTheAirlock by Mal for betraying Simon and River to the Alliance, pleads with Mal -- not for his life (he already tried that and failed), but for Mal to make up a story to conceal his guilt. This convinced Mal to give him another chance.

* ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}}''. In one episode a drug dealer dies after rough handling by a CID officer, and even the victim's mother doesn't want an inquiry. Sam Tyler uncovers a tape of the incident and gives it to apparently by-the-book Superintendent Rathbone, only to see Rathbone destroy the tape in front of him as "the matter has been handled internally" (with the guilty officer's demotion) and he's not going to bring the police department "crashing down" over this matter. Tyler says bitterly that men like Rathbone should be "surgically removed" -- of course, coming from 2006, Tyler knows all too well that corruption can't be eliminated without destroying public faith in the police.

* ''Series/SeaQuestDSV''
** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_(seaQuest_DSV) “Games”]]: Rubin Zellar says he was sentenced to a remote prison since none of his clients wanted to be exposed for collaborating with him. It is later discovered that at least 91% of the evidence against him was destroyed; the remaining was labeled top-secret.
** “Good Soldiers”: the [=SeaQuest=] is sent to destroy evidence of illegal medical experiments conducted by the [[spoiler:[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Earth_Oceans_Organization]] United Earth Oceans Organization]]. In addition to the fact that the enemies of the [[spoiler:UEO]] would gain a propaganda victory; the people involved in the illegal experiments are seen as heroes and or have become high ranking members of the organization.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek''

** In "Sins of the Father", Worf's father is made a scapegoat for treason actually committed by Duras' father because the Klingon government does not dare offend Duras' powerful family. When they did actually get around to cutting the family out (after Worf killed Duras), it resulted in civil war in the 2-part episode "Redemption".
** In "The Wounded", both Picard and Captain Macet of the Cardassians are eager to stop Captain Ben Maxwell when he goes on the warpath, destroying two Cardassian ships and a science station. Macet believes Maxwell is carrying out a personal vendetta, and Picard eventually concurs, while Maxwell claims the Cardassians are gearing up for war. Maxwell breaks down, surrenders and calls off another attack, but Picard realizes [[TheExtremistWasRight he was right]]. He tells Macet this, but assures him he'll keep it between them so as to preserve peace between their races.
* In the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Dax", such a coverup is the reason Dax symbiont is charged with treason. [[spoiler:It was the actual traitor who got killed]].
** It gets deconstructed in "Tacking Into The Wind" when Ezri Dax points out how Worf doing this, such as in TNG's "Sins of the Father", among other episodes, [[InherentInTheSystem has only enabled or encouraged the Klingon Empire's corruption]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In ''Fanfic/FrozenHearts'', this is [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] with regards to [[spoiler:Prince Hans; who is confined, away from the public eye, while his parents weigh how to punish him for his crimes, as a result of not wanting word to get out before his punishment is decided. The King and Queen of the Southern Isles ultimately go public regarding his wrongdoing, though.]]

* Done in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' concerning Jebidiah Springfield (posthumously).

* Inverted in ''LightNovel/HowARealistHeroRebuiltTheKingdom''. The fact that [[spoiler:Georg Carmine]] was not a traitor to his country was covered up, since his betrayal served as a useful cover for getting rid of many other people who actually were treasonous. It's eventually revealed to the public that he wasn't actually a traitor, though a few sensitive details are still kept secret.

* In ''FanFic/DirtySympathy'' this is why [[spoiler: Edgeworth]] won't extradite Klavier and Apollo back to the U.S. All their cases would be put into question, endangering innocents like Wocky Kitaki and Vera Misham. Their convictions could be overturned, which could allow [[spoiler: Kristoph]] his freedom since his initial conviction is dependent on a crime he didn't commit and Phoenix would lose his creditability and the progress he made.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2419807/1/The-Riddle-of-Jim-Lillian The Riddle Of Jim Lillian]]'', Hermione claims that it was Draco Malfoy who killed Ron, Neville, and Luna, tortured Ginny, broke Harry's wand and leaked the Prophecy to Voldemort. In the final chapters, however, it's revealed that [[spoiler: Ron was the one who committed most of those crimes, with Ginny accidentally killing him when she attacked him in a rage after he revealed his treachery. Harry convinces Ginny and Hermione to lie that Draco - who has already committed numerous crimes as a Death Eater - committed Ron's crimes to protect the Weasleys, who would be vilified as the family of the traitorous Ron and blame themselves for Ron's turn to evil.]]

* ''Film/{{Assassination}}'': The mastermind behind the assassination attempts on the First Lady is a [[spoiler: high-ranking White House official]]. His death is reported as a medical condition to avoid a scandal. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_(1987_film)]]

* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'': Harvey Dent was horribly burned by the Joker, who kidnapped him and put him in a room full of gasoline, and driven to near insanity because [[spoiler: the Joker lied about where Rachel was and where Harvey was, so Bruce manages to save Harvey, who gets half his face burned off because that half was doused in gasoline, while Rachel dies because the cops couldn't get there fast enough. While he is in the hospital, the Joker comes to him and manages to convince him to go after all the corrupt cops in the police force and even betray JIM GORDON AND BATMAN, the only good cops left, in order to avenge Rachel. Because he figures that he and Rachel each had a 50/50 chance of surviving, due to which one would be rescued by Batman, he gives all of the cops a 50/50 chance on whether they live or die as Two-Face. In the end, when he is holding a gun to Gordon's son, Batman tackles him and knocks him off a 20-foot height, killing him. But if he was reported as a villain, all 150 criminals he convicted would go free, so Commissioner Gordon and Batman agree to tell the press that Batman killed the traitorous cops, so that Harvey can die a hero. As a result, the Dent Act is passed, allowing the police to clean up Gotham's streets, further making it impossible to report on the terrible things Harvey did. Until ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', when Bane finally blows the whistle on it all.]]
* In ''Film/AFistfulOfDynamite'', that's what John decides to do with [[spoiler: Dr. Villega's]] treachery, due to the latter's [[TortureAlwaysWorks breaking only under torture]] and [[RedemptionEqualsDeath deliberate self-sacrifice to atone his deed]].

* By the end of ''Film/IronMan'', the government has concocted a story to cover up most of the final battle, including that TreacherousAdvisor Obidiah Stane disappeared in a plane crash whose wreckage was never found. It's doubtful that their Treachery Cover-Up story ever got a chance to play out, though, since [[spoiler: Tony completely breaks their script at the press conference and outs himself as Iron Man]].
* ''Film/LAConfidential'': Once in the movie, twice in the book. Ed has to cover up [[spoiler: Dudley's identity as the BigBad]], but his father did it back in the day [[spoiler: by helping Dieterling frame Atherton for the murders his son committed]].

** ''Literature/PathOfTheFury'' (''Literature/InFuryBorn''): Alicia Dierdre [=DeVries=] of the Imperial Cadre “drop commando” unit resigns after [[spoiler: Wadislaw Watts]] is allowed to escape a court-martial in exchange for his assistance in destroying a Rishathan espionage network. Nobody in the imperial government wants a court-martial since it will humiliate the Cadre. Later averted when the Terran Emperor tells [=DeVries=] that [[spoiler: Fleet Admiral Subrahmanyan Treadwell, Vice Admiral Amos Brinkman]], and the rest of the secessionist conspirators will be court-martialed.

*** After Operation Hassan causes chaos in the Manticorian and Grayson governments in ''Ashes of Victory'', only the Masadan and Grayson ([[spoiler: Samuel Mueller]]) conspirators are convicted. Haven is not accused because the only credible witness is killed to ensure secrecy.
*** [[spoiler: [[http://honorverse.wikia.com/wiki/Samuel_Mueller Samuel Mueller]]]] is not held responsible for his collaboration with [[http://honorverse.wikia.com/wiki/William_Fitzclarence William Allen Hillman Fitzclarence]] because of weak evidence. Later he becomes the leader of the political opposition and any accusation against him would only allow [[spoiler: Mueller]] to accuse the Grayson government of a political vendetta.

* The final fate of [[spoiler: the Camerlengo]] in ''Literature/AngelsAndDemons''.

* In ''Literature/LastFlight'', [[spoiler: the Antivan royal guard mutiny en masse, murdering King Elaudio and a great many of his nobles for failing to evacuate Antiva City before the darkspawn could lay siege to it, ensuring a massacre when the city is inevitably sacked. After the Grey Wardens defeat the mutineers, a cover story is given out that King Elaudio was killed in battle defending his city from the darkspawn to preserve morale]].

* In ''Series/{{Fringe}}'', John Scott's betrayal is covered up to prevent scandal touching the FBI. Which is rather a good thing as it later transpires [[spoiler: that he wasn't a traitor at all, but deep undercover.]]

** “Good Soldiers”: the [=SeaQuest=] is sent to destroy evidence of illegal medical experiments conducted by the [[spoiler: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Earth_Oceans_Organization]] United Earth Oceans Organization]]. In addition to the fact that the enemies of the [[spoiler: UEO]] would gain a propaganda victory; the people involved in the illegal experiments are seen as heroes and or have become high ranking members of the organization.

** The [[spoiler: [[http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Tezwa Tezwa]]]] incident and [[spoiler: [[http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Min_Zife Min Zife’s]]]] involvement are covered up to avoid war.

* In the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Dax", such a coverup is the reason Dax symbiont is charged with treason. [[spoiler: It was the actual traitor who got killed]].

* Happens in ''VideoGame/SuikodenI''; [[spoiler:[[TheMole Sanchez]]]] is exposed at a vital point for the rebellion, and the game's strategist orders that [[spoiler: his]] treachery be concealed (with the rest of the cast forcing [[spoiler: him]] to play [[spoiler: his role]]) because the knowledge of a high-ranking traitor would undermine confidence. Even after the game's end, [[spoiler: he]] is eventually secretly 'pardoned' (but exiled to a single city and never genuinely forgiven) because the revelation that one of the heroes of the revolution was a traitor would be dangerous for the stability of the new republic. [[spoiler: However, the fact that he's a high ranking character with no Star of Destiny who constantly offers the main character alcohol should have been a give away if you were paying attention from the beginning.]]

* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'', the heroes of the first game keep the truth about [[spoiler: [[WellIntentionedExtremist Mithos]], Martel, and [[PathOfInspiration the Church]]]] secret, because frankly, the world doesn't need that kind of disillusionment.
** In the original game, Lloyd and the party remain quiet about [[spoiler:Governor-General Dorr]] collaborating with the Desians by [[spoiler:enabling the people of Palmacosta to be taken to the ranch so that he can get his wife turned back to normal]], so that the city can get through the crisis while trusting its leadership. Lloyd gets [[WhatTheHellHero a significant across-the-board drop]] in the party's RelationshipValues if you decide to say that you're not OK with this. [[spoiler:Palmacosta ultimately gets destroyed at the end of Disc One]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Sacrifice}}'', if you side with James, the hero covers up the fact that the prophet Mithras [[spoiler:was the omnicidal demon Marduk in another form]].

* In ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'', a CIA team is in Dubai as {{Agent Provocateur}}s stirring up the local populace against the rogue US Army regiment that took control of the city following a natural disaster. The agent in command, however, wants to attack the city's water supply so that everyone -- soldier and civilian alike -- dies before the rest of the Middle East learns what atrocities American soldiers committed to preserve martial law, which he thinks will lead to war with the entire region.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', [[spoiler:Dorian was blackmailed by his former Yiga Clan superiors into spying on Kakariko Village and eventually stealing the Shrine Orb that Paya had been guarding. Once Link defeats the Yiga Blademaster who planned to kill Dorian after this anyway and finds out about all this, he agrees to keep Dorian's past connections with the Yiga Clan and recent actions under wraps.]]
* In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', [[spoiler:members of TheConspiracy mean to send Joker/The Protagonist to jail as a SilentScapegoat to save their reputations instead of admitting fault after Shido's Change-Of-Heart-inspired confession of all their collective crimes.]] Maxing Confidants will avert this, though. [[spoiler: All the people Joker helped throughout the course of the game -- including his party members, which count a well-known model, his school's valedictorian, and a young woman from a wealthy family among its ranks; a determined journalist, his homeroom teacher, his probation officer, and a member of the National Diet, Japan's legislative body -- band together to gather enough evidence to get him released from prison. [=CMoF=] points, too, for DirtyCops trying to keep tabs on him after and being stymied by the TeamPet disabling their car's engine.]]

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', the circumstances of [[spoiler: Lord Shojo's death at Miko's hands]] are concealed from the people of Azure City in order to prevent morale from being more seriously damaged than it already is. This may well contribute to the WeAREStrugglingTogether situation later on as rumors circulate about the circumstances of his death.
** Miko has a second one: after being rescued from Xykon and Redcloak, O'chul [[MetaphoricallyTrue told just the right amount of truth]] and invoked NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead in order to prevent Miko's name from being tarnished any further after she destroyed the Gate in the Azure City Throne Room.

* Inverted very early on in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''. Silas Merlot, in a fit of temper, reveals that Dr. Beetle has been hiding a Hive Engine (a piece of poorly-understood technology containing highly dangerous organisms which can turn their victims into {{Sycophantic Servant}}s) for his own research, which Baron Wulfenbach has expressly forbidden, because of the danger. Fearing the Baron's harsh punishments, Beetle panics and tries to bomb the Baron, but the gambit backfires and obliterates Beetle instead. Merlot gets about halfway through the first sentence of trying to conspire with the Baron to hide Beetle's death when the Baron declares his undying hatred for traitors, and he holds Merlot and his theatrics directly responsible for what just happened. He then declares that Merlot's punishment is that ''he'' is now in charge of Beetleburg...[[CruelMercy after the much-beloved Dr. Beetle is given a hero's funeral and the full details of his death, Merlot's involvement included, have been released to the public.]]

* The ending of the Jet Li movie ''Film/{{Hero}}'' indicates that the would-be assassin was killed as a traitor, but buried as a hero.

* Anime/{{Patlabor}}
** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patlabor:_The_Movie Patlabor: The Movie]]: The true source of the malfunctioning labors is whitewashed so the Japanese government will not be disgraced. The corporation that built the faulty labor robots has given the government massive support and money.

[[WMG:[[center:[[AC:This trope's Real Life section is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13350380440A15238800&page=397 subject to a crowner]] in the Real Life Section Maintenance thread. Please vote down to keep the section, or vote up to delete it.]]]]]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* When the Nazis suspected Erwin Rommel knew about a plot to assassinate Hitler, they offered to ignore it if he would commit suicide, or according to other sources, be shot privately. This was because he was such a hero the Nazis feared public accusations would be harmful to morale. Faced with the potential consequences for his family, he agreed, either killing himself by poison or being quietly shot by the SS.
* Anthony Blunt, one of the Cambridge Five (a group of KGB moles in Britain's intelligence services) wasn't charged after he agreed to a plea bargain and named agents he'd recruited. He was in charge of the Queen's portraits and got a knighthood. Subverted as he was then outed in 1979 and stripped of said knighthood.
* Wikileaks put [[DefiedTrope defiance of this trope]] as their mission statement. An ArchiveBinge through it is one of the faster ways to lose faith in one's fellow humans.
* The F.B.I. being forced to cover up the fact [[https://theintercept.com/2017/01/31/the-fbi-has-quietly-investigated-white-supremacist-infiltration-of-law-enforcement/ White Supremacist are infiltrating Law Enforcement]].
* The break-in at the Watergate Hotel was a minor incident that wasn't on anyone's RADAR nationally. It was the cover-up that brought down Richard Nixon.
* Many of the higher-ups at Creator/TheBBC were aware of the many sex crimes committed by Creator/JimmySavile during his longtime stay with them, but kept quite about them to avoid damaging the company's reputation.
* The Catholic Church practically had this trope ingrained as ''tradition'' with how commonplace it became in regards to child sexual abuse by the {{pedophile priest}}s in its ranks. The Church had a history of covering up child molestation cases for at least several ''decades'' by quietly transferring caught priests and silencing victims and their families, if the victims themselves didn't already repress the memories, all for the sake of maintaining their goodwill among churchgoers. When the first major news story on the coverups came out in 2002, it revealed just how heavily the Church had come to accept this silencing for the sake of preserving their image, and later revelations in the following decades only made the situation even more apparent.
[[/folder]]

->''"Because that's what needs to happen. Because sometimes the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded."''