The term “in the know” suggests access to secretive information, often government or corporate. It can also refer to exclusive knowledge in a certain area of expertise. Skepticism is common due to fraudulent use, but some journalists protect sources to maintain their status.
If someone claims to be “in the know,” that person generally suggests they have access to information that isn’t available to the rest of the public. This type of access is often requested for government information, corporate information, or for secret tips and tricks in a certain area of expertise. People can sometimes be skeptical when they hear this term used by a random person, because it is generally well understood that people sometimes claim to be “in the know” as a way to gain prestige and make people think they are more knowledgeable. than we actually are.
In general, the use of the term requires a situation where there is some level of secrecy. This is why government information is a common context, since people normally believe that there are top secret government projects and other possible areas where some facts may be withheld from the public. The idiom is also usually applied to situations where the keeper of the secret is a large, monolithic entity, such as a government or large corporation, but this is not always the case.
Some people claim to be “in the know” because they have information about practicing a prestigious skill that hasn’t been shared. For example, a particular athlete might have a special training routine that allows him to outdo other people, and if he were to keep this routine mostly secret, the few people he told about it would be “in the know.” In a case like this, the list of people who actually knew something might include the athlete’s closest friends, his coaches, and perhaps his teammates. If those people started sharing information, it would eventually become public knowledge, and once it stops being a secret, the use of the term generally doesn’t apply very well.
When someone claims to be “in the know” there can sometimes be a lot of skepticism because it is often very easy to make a claim without having to back it up much later. This type of fraudulent use of idiom has generally become even more common since the Internet has become more widespread because online communities often provide an extra layer of anonymity. On the other end of the spectrum, some journalists and other people in the news industry are particularly famous because they are actually “in the know” and these people go to great lengths to protect their sources so they can maintain that status.
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