Snitching is getting people in trouble for fun. Speaking up is getting someone out of trouble they can’t escape alone.

The word snitch does a lot of work it has not earned, and most of it protects whoever benefits from the silence. The difference is direction: one is aimed at causing somebody harm you enjoy, the other at getting somebody out of something they cannot escape alone. Those are not the same act with different labels. Usually everybody present knows which one is happening.

If someone is in real trouble, telling an adult is the right call, whatever it costs socially. Choose an adult who will actually do something rather than the nearest one. If you are unsure, say the uncertainty out loud to somebody you trust.