The process is cherry-picking by definition; you provide a use case and are then selected (or not selected) based on their perception of your merit. They are a

The process is cherry-picking by definition; you provide a use case and are then selected (or not selected) based on their perception of your merit. They are a startup. They are looking for funding. By definition they will do whatever necessary to secure that funding. I don't think you need a ProPublica research piece to prove the validity of that premise.