Following the U.S. Watergate scandal in the 1970s, in which presidential prerogatives of the Nixon administration collided with the U.S. Constitution in a genuinely important crisis, the suffix -gate has been used to name various other scandals, some of which were distinctly minor affairs, as the following list demonstrates. The result has been to trivialize the Watergate scandal itself. Its use sometimes indicates that the source of the scandal is an audio tape of a private conversation. Gatemania refers to its overuse.
See also: back-formation
- Bastardgate – Fallout from former UK Prime Minister John Major being caught on camera in 1993 calling three of his ministers "Bastards".
- Billygate – US President Jimmy Carter's brother, Billy Carter, legally represented a Libyan terrorist.
- Bingogate – the use of charity funds for the ruling party in British Columbia.
- Camillagate – tape of a telephone conversation between Charles, Prince of Wales and Mrs Camilla Parker-Bowles.
- Cheriegate – concerning Cherie Blair's association with Carole Caplin.
- Chinagate – improper campaign contributions to the Democratic Party
- Contragate – see Irangate.
- Corngate – the accidental release of genetically modified corn in New Zealand.
- Debategate – Carter's debate briefing books.
- Dianagate/Squidgygate – tape of a telephone conversation between Diana, Princess of Wales and a male friend.
- Donnygate – corruption amongst Doncaster councillors.
- Enrongate – fraudlent accounting practices led the company to the largest bankruptcy suit in history.
- Filegate – White House officials improperly requested and received security files from the FBI.
- Gropegate – California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was alleged to have groped many women while working on movies.
- Hansiegate – cricket match-fixing scandal involving South African captain Hansie Cronje.
- Hoovergate – Hoover's "Free Flights" promotion fiasco.
- Intimigate or Plamegate – the revealing, by Robert Novak, of the true identity of Valerie Plame.
- Irangate – (also Iran-Contra affair) – The United States sold weapons to Iran and diverted the proceeds to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
- Iraqgate – Where Finnish opposition leader Anneli Jäätteenmäki used state secrets against prime minister Paavo Lipponen during the parliamentary election campaign.
- Jueteng-gate – Scandal involving Philippine president Joseph Estrada alleging that he amassed millions of dollars from an illegal numbers game called jueteng. As a result, he was deposed through a popular uprising.
- Koreagate – Korean businessman's dealings with certain members of Congress (1976).
- Lexusgate – Top financial officer of Hong Kong, Antony Leung purchased a Lexus right before a luxury car tax hike was announced.
- Monicagate (also "Zippergate", Lewinsky scandal) – named after Monica Lewinsky who had a sexual relationship with the then–US President, Bill Clinton.
- Memogate – Involving the use of Killian documents on 60 Minutes, making unsubstantiated claimes about George W. Bush's National Guard service; resulted in the retirement of Dan Rather.
- Nannygate – noncitizen domestic help for U.S. attorney general nominees.
- Nipplegate – Justin Timberlake reveals Janet Jackson's nipple during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII. Called "teatgate" by Jon Stewart.
- Officegate – the investigation into Scottish First Minister Henry McLeish's decision to sub-let his constituency office, resulting in his resignation.
- Orlengate – corruption scandal in Poland
- Paksagate (Paksageitas) – Impeachment of president Rolandas Paksas of Lithuania
- Pardongate – President Clinton's presidential pardons.
- PEMEXGATE – scandal in México dealing with funds from PEMEX the national oil company.
- Pretzelgate – To explain a two-inch bruise on the face of U.S. President George W. Bush, he and his staff claim he hit his face on a coffee table after passing out because he choked on a pretzel. Some people felt the story was invented to cover-up the real cause of the bruise.
- Rathergate (also "Memogate") – Memos, soon proven to be forged, surfaced in 2004 alleging President George W. Bush of being derelict in his duty in the Texas Air National Guard in 1972. Reporter Dan Rather broke the story on 60 Minutes, and continued to stand behind it for days after the documents were all but proven false. See also Killian documents.
- Rubbergate – members of the United States House of Representatives knowingly wrote bad checks without being penalized.
- Rywingate – a recent scandal in Poland, named after Lew Rywin who, on July 22, 2002, demanded a 17.5 million USD bribe from Adam Michnik (Gazeta Wyborcza) claiming that he was sent by the then Prime Minister of Poland, Leszek Miller.
- Shawinigate – scandal over former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's alleged conflict-of-interest in real estate in his riding.
- Skategate – the scandal over the pairs figure skating results of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where a judge was apparently bribed to fix the outcome. The case went on for nearly two weeks before joint gold medals were granted.
- Sponsorgate – The Canadian sponsorship scandal.
- Strippergate – Seattle City Council members Heidi Wills and Judy Nicastro vote for rezoning a strip club parking lot in exchange for unethical donations. Also the name of a scandal in Canada in 2004 with the Minister of Immigration Judy Sgro granting a visa to a Romanian exotic dancer who worked for her campaign during the 2004 Canadian Federal Election.
- Svengate
- Toallagate – A scandal involving the cost of towels in the official residence of Mexican president Vicente Fox.
- Tunagate – In 1985 a Canadian minister orders the selling of tuna ruled unfit for consumption.
- Whitewatergate – In 1994, President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary were charged with covering up shady investments.
- Votergate – Documentary Film regarding United States Presidential Election November 2nd, 2004. The film explores questions of alleged fraud, lack of accountability or transparency in the vote count, disenfranchisement, hackable computers, and other conspiracy theories that might offer an explanation to the re-election of incumbent President George W. Bush.
- Yellowcakegate – Crudely forged documents intended to implicate Iraq in developing nuclear weapons were used by the U.S. government to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq.