The finger pointing at the graduate student Heather Ames reminds me of the concept of gas lighting, derived from the 1944 movie Gaslight: gas·light ˈɡaslīt/

The finger pointing at the graduate student Heather Ames reminds me of the concept of gas lighting, derived from the 1944 movie Gaslight: gas·light ˈɡaslīt/ verb gerund or present participle: gaslighting manipulate (someone) by psychological means into questioning their own sanity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting This is a fairly common bullying tactic where the bully both bullies, usually secretively, and tries to make the victim look like a nut case. The story, with others pointing the finger at Heather Ames, raises the question whether more people were involved than the single researcher who was caught on video. While self-sabotage was certainly a possibility, sabotage by a colleague or co-worker was clearly a substantial possibility and reportedly proved to be the case.