Who were the muckrakers and what did they do?

Muckrakers were early investigative journalists, including Lincoln Steffens, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Ida Tarbell, who exposed political and corporate corruption, aiming to reveal social injustices and prompt public action. They got the name muckrakers from U.S. Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, who intended it as an insult; instead it became a badge of honor.