Can we use it for exaggerate something "The facts were blown up in the newspapers."?
I waited before answering, in the hope that somebody else would do so convincingly first. Nobody has, so I'll have a go.
I don't
think it's natural for
facts to be blown up - facts are facts.
Incidents, affairs, problems, disagreements, etc can be blown up, sometimes
out of (all) proportion, but not facts, IMO.
I hope others can either confirm my belief, or show it to be mistaken.