Editing The Real World (section)

===Authenticity===
[[File:20010716-077 Real World Chicago 2001 Vandalized.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[The Real World: Chicago]] residence on July 16, 2001. Note the vandalism (red paint on the door)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kleine|first=Ted|title=Reality Bites|url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/reality-bites/Content?oid=906087|access-date=2021-02-24|website=Chicago Reader|date=August 2, 2001|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Column|first=Jill Lewandowski|date=2002-01-16|title=Wicker Park gets a dose of reality|url=https://dailynorthwestern.com/2002/01/16/archive-manual/wicker-park-gets-a-dose-of-reality/|access-date=2021-02-24|website=The Daily Northwestern}}</ref> and street-level brick that has been worn due to graffiti and its continued removal due to protests.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A 'Real World' Protest|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-real-world-protest/|access-date=2021-03-06|website=CBS News|date=July 23, 2001 |language=en-US}}</ref>]]
As with other reality shows, ''The Real World'' has received criticism for being staged.<ref name=EWPage3>Fretts. 1995. [https://ew.com/article/1995/07/21/real-world-returns-fourth-season/ Page 3 of 4] </ref><ref>Rogers, Steve. [http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/real-world-chicago-cast-admits-their-september-11-reactions-were-staged-546.php "'Real World: Chicago' cast admits their September 11 reactions were staged"]. August 19, 2002</ref> During a reunion show featuring the first four ''Real World'' casts, [[Heather Gardner]], of the original [[The Real World: New York|New York]] cast, asked some members of the [[The Real World: San Francisco|1994 San Francisco]] cast if their situations were real. She noted that situations from the original season seemed to repeat themselves in the other incarnations, stopping short of accusing them of acting. On an edition of the ''[[E! True Hollywood Story]]'' that spotlighted the series, cast member Jon Brennan revealed that he was asked by the producers to state on the air that he felt hatred towards housemate Tami Roman for her decision to have an abortion, and that he refused to do so, stating that although he disagreed with her decision, he did not feel hatred towards her. Another accusation is that producers selectively edit material in order to give the false impression of certain emotional reactions or statements from the castmates.<ref name=realityreel>{{cite web|title=Interview With Coral Jeanne Smith from ''Battle of the Sexes'' and ''The Real World''|date=December 23, 2004|url=http://www.realityreel.com/index.php?file=article&sid=976&pageid=2|access-date=June 21, 2007|work=Reality Reel|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928185155/http://www.realityreel.com/index.php?file=article&sid=976&pageid=2|archive-date=September 28, 2007}}</ref> ''New York'' cast member [[Rebecca Blasband]] says producers paid a man $100 to ask her out on a date, and that she terminated that plan when she learned of it. She also says that the argument she and [[Kevin Powell]] had in the seventh episode of that season was edited to make both of them appear more extreme.<ref name=Westword/>

Some critics see the very concept of being in "the real world" as a misnomer, asserting that in the real world, people do not live in luxurious dwellings for free, are not given jobs in the media without any effort, and are not taken to exotic locations for free,<ref>[[The Real World: San Francisco|1994 San Francisco]]'s [[Judd Winick]] related receiving this criticism during ''The Real World Reunion'' in 1995.</ref> a 'reaction' that has been 'experienced' by Judd Winick, who calls the series "reality in context".<ref name=CBR/>