Erika Cheung: Theranos, whistleblowing and speaking truth to power | TED

In 2014, Erika Cheung made a discovery that would ultimately help bring down her employer, Theranos, as well as its founder, Elizabeth Holmes, who claimed to have invented technology that would transform medicine. The decision to become a whistleblower proved a hard lesson in figuring out how to do what's right in the face of both personal and professional obstacles. With candor and humility, Cheung shares her journey of speaking truth to power -- and offers a framework to encourage others to come forward and act in the service of all.

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[PungiFungi]

THIS is the woman who should be lauded on all those publications that slapped Holmes on their covers. THIS is the woman whose Glamour should give a Woman of the Year award to.

[judowrestlerka]

This woman is 3000X the human being that Elizabeth Holms will EVER be.
What a story.

[cheechalker]

How pissed must Elizabeth be that:
1) her TedTalk has been removed from the TedTalk website and
2) Erica’s Ted Talk has revealed Holmes as the liar she was

[spadada]

This woman is a straight up hero.

Also, the caricature of Holmes on the slide is hilarious.

[Overonator]

Strengthen whistleblower protections. That's the answer.

[thembelihlemasina]

I like that you decided to quit the very next day.
So much integrity.

[mihilranathunga]

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear. What a courageous woman.

[biltrex]

Erika Cheung deserves her own movie, or at the very least a fantastic portrayal in the upcoming movies.

[cheekyyum]

She is a HERO, she comes from a struggling family, was bold enough at a young age, to stand up to that fraud Holmes and survive. This is the voice of a survivor, honesty and ethical respect is above everything for this beautiful brilliant young lady

[cheerp]

What a smart, eloquent, well-spoken lady! And with a moral compass like that, she is so admirable!

[catlover]

she risked everything to be a whistleblower. we owe her so much. Tyler Schulz is great too but he's from a family that has money and connections. Erika didn't have those things. she truly is a hero.

[KJ-xcnq]

But I hate how when I Google her, her description is “whistleblower”, I mean she’s a genius scientist and incredibly successful. But I wonder if other tech companies even hire whistle blowers? It’s not fair but so glad she took the risk

[dennistucker]

I was a whistle-blower a long time ago. I raised my concerns in a similar manner. The very large company I was working for destroyed my career and paid off the FBI investigator. Here is what I learned...companies are there to make money...many of them don't care how they go about it...these companies are willing to put ethics and legal concerns aside to get what they want...if anyone says or does anything contrary to this, they will act in accordance with their greed.

[humeeayisha]

Thanks for speaking up, your saved a lot of people from wrong medications due to wrong lab results.

[CASD]

When you’re questioning your mental health, that is your intuition tipping you off. So much respect for this brilliant person who refused to be silenced.

[lloydy]

This is what a hero looks like. Erika, as a scientist, you have my undying respect for what you did and your integrity.

[Ohmykitten]

She's a real fighter. I don't even know her but I'm so proud of her.

[kitsunelee]

The bravery of whistle-blower's is underrated and under reported. These ppl have literally saved the lives of millions of ppl all over the globe.
Thank you to ALL whistle-blower's and the sacrifices and pain you lived thru to do the right thing.

[sandifenandes]

I was a whistle blower. I paid a heavy price. No one stood with me. I'm still glad I did it. There are those who change things and those who watch. Change does not happen without people like us!

[merryhunt]

George Schultz was impressed by people who were very intelligent when he should have been listening to people who are very honest.