[jonkelly]

Exactly, the "Mark Burnett problem" (producer of Survivor). I heard him claim in an interview that with enough footage he could create any perception of a person that he wanted (hero, jerk, brilliant, idiot, etc.). It seemed obvious after hearing it, but not something I had considered.

[seren]

This can be seen as a modern incarnation of the famous (apocryphal?) Cardinal Richelieu's quote :

"If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him."