History Main / CaughtOnTape

--<'''Kane''': Is that camera still running?! ''(gunshot)''

* Brutally subverted in ''GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'', where the Tachikomas discuss the fact that video footage is practically useless as evidence due to how easily it can be tampered with. Indeed, the Laughing Man's MO relies entirely on this, as he hacks into any recording devices around him (including other people's cyberbrains) and edits himself out of the footage, effectively letting him become invisible.

* On ''AmericanDad'' a traffic camera records Roger running someone over and leaving them to die. However, he's wearing a [[PaperThinDisguise paper thin]] KevinBacon disguise at the time, so it's the Hollywood actor who gets arrested. Even Bacon himself, who was thousands of miles away when the hit-and-run happened, believes he must have committed the crime and repressed the memory, because "it's clearly me on the tape!"
* ''TheSimpsons'' [[ItsBeenDone did it]] when Homer was accused of groping a woman. Apparently [[FunnyForeigner Groundskeeper Willy]], like ''all'' Scottish people, secretly videotapes random people in cars, and he uses his tape to prove that Homer was just trying to grab a piece of candy off the woman's butt.
* The {{Dinosaucers}} tried it with the Tyrannos once but it failed because they put Bonehead in charge of taping the confession but he instead covered the villain on adhesive tape.
* DuckTales had an episode where Flintheart Glomgold framed Scrooge with art theft by showing a tape of 'Scrooge' stealing the painting. It worked at first but Huey, Dewey and Louie eventually found out the tape caught a reflection of 'Scrooge' taking off his disguise, revealing himself as Flintheart Glomgold.
* HeyArnold had an animated movie where a CorruptCorporateExecutive tried to demolish several homes and businesses to erect a shopping center and avenge an ancestor. The villain gloated to Arnold and burned a document that established the area as a historical site, thus making it illegal to demolish it. It was caught on the villain's own security tape.
* WheelSquad: Akim and Johnny were once arrested for robbery and a security tape from World Mart had been introduced as evidence against them. It turned out that [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Enzo]], the manager of World Mart, doctored the tape becaise his boss wasn't satisfied that the extra cameras had yet to diminish the place's theft rate.

* In {{Homestuck}}, there is a scene where [[spoiler:One of the many Araidabot's Soulbot Video Logs shows the battle against the Black King.]] This technically counts as caught on tape as proof for Andrew Hussie to prevent the readers bugging him about what happened during the battle.

* In [[Homestuck]], there is a scene where [[spoiler:One of the many Araidabot's Soulbot Video Logs shows the battle against the Black King.]]

* On ''{{Friends}}'' Ross and Rachel argue about which of them initiated the sex that resulted in Rachel getting pregnant. Ross insists that it was Rachel who hit on him, and shouts out that he can prove it because he videotaped the whole thing. [[{{Understatement}} This does not make the situation better.]]

* On ''AmericanDad'' a traffic camera records Roger running someone over and leaving them to die. However, he's wearing a [[PaperThinDisguise paper thin]] KevinBacon disguise at the time, so it's the Hollywood actor who gets arrested. Even Bacon himself, who was thousands of miles away when the hit-and-run happen, believes he must have committed the crime and repressed the memory, because "it's clearly me on the tape!"
* TheSimpsons [[ItsBeenDone did it]] when Homer was accused to being a pervert and a molest, [[FunnyForeigner Groundskeeper Willy]] apparently, like ''all'' Scots, videos people when they're unaware. Turns out Homer was just picking off a jelly candy off of her pants.

[[AC:Literature]]

* The plot of ThePlayerOfGames is triggered by a pseudo-aversion. Thousands of years into the future, video manipulation is so advanced and commonplace that no one would dream of considering videos as proof of anything, because it is trivially easy to produce pixel-perfect representations of anything you want. The eponymous grandmaster is very surprised when he is blackmailed by an unexpectedly advanced drone, and has to learn that there are indeed levels of event-recording that will be accepted as genuine when a sufficiently sophisticated AI vouches for them.

* [[TheSimpsons]] [[SimpsonsDidIt did it]] when Homer was accused to being a pervert and a molest, [[FunnyForeigner Groundskeeper Willy]] apparently, like ''all'' Scots, videos people when they're unaware. Turns out Homer was just picking off a jelly candy off of her pants.

* The plot of ''{{Heist}}'' starts when Joe Moore's face is captured on a security camera he wasn't expecting to be there.

* ''TheAvengers''. Emma Peel is the prime suspect for the destruction of the Prospero Project after the security tape shows her entering and killing people. It was actually her EvilTwin clone who did it.

* ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Court Martial". Captain Kirk is brought up on charges of causing the death of a crewman. The main evidence against him is the Enterprise computer log. It's later determined that the log was altered to frame Kirk for the crewman's death.

* ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Court Martial". Captian Kirk is brought up on charges of causing the death of a crewman. The main evidence against him is the Enterprise computer log. It's later determined that the log was altered to frame Kirk for the crewman's death.

In fact, the absolute certainty that video evidence provides is such a common trope that [[SubvertedTrope subverting]] it has become a very popular plot twist, usually by revealing that the footage has been doctored, or that the camera angle involved resulted in NotWhatItLooksLike.