What was a muckraker

The term muckraker was used to refer to american journalists that - during the 20th century - they dedicated themselves to denouncing publicly the political corruption, the labor exploitation and a series of abuses, immoralities and dirty rags of personages and institutions of the time.

A muckraker is a person who intentionally seeks out and publishes the misdeeds, such as criminal acts or corruption, of a public individual for profit or gain. Muckraker is often applied specifically to journalists.