Then the incentive becomes to stop a whistleblower faster if they had a dead-man cache than if they released it all at once. There’s no guarantee that the whistleblower is being honest or is capable enough to undertake something like that but there’s always a risk that the whistleblower may disclose that information anyway. Better to stop the whistleblower by arresting them first and deal with the potential fallout than negotiate. Now the whistleblower’s reputation is ruined, if they’re behind bars they’re effectively silenced, and they’re as good as dead to society without all that messy work trying to fake a suicide.
Then the incentive becomes to stop a whistleblower faster if they had a dead-man cache than if they released it all at once. There’s no guarantee that the whistleblower is being honest or is capable enough to undertake something like that but there’s always a risk that the whistleblower may disclose that information anyway. Better to stop the whistleblower by arresting them first and deal with the potential fallout than negotiate. Now the whistleblower’s reputation is ruined, if they’re behind bars they’re effectively silenced, and they’re as good as dead to society without all that messy work trying to fake a suicide.