"exaggerate the situation" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to describe when someone has presented a problem or issue in an overly dramatic way, or when someone has presented facts in a way that gives a much worse impression than the actual reality. For example, "Though he tried to exaggerate the situation, the issue was not as serious as he described."
Cable channels tend to exaggerate the situation".
His friend Mehry, who works in the health industry, appealed to the international media not to exaggerate the situation.
At such a juncture a writer can inject their own imagination to isolate them from the real world or maybe they can exaggerate the situation – making sure it is bold, vivid and has the signature of our real world.
Upon the formation of Agatha, people feared that excessive rainfall from the storm could exaggerate the situation and trigger lahars.
Liberal MP Greg Fergus suggested that the opposition was looking to "exaggerate the situation, and make it into something that it wasn't, and want to make it into something reminiscent of a dive in the 2014 World Cup".
Alena: "I want to exaggerate the situation and shock people.
Black journalists talk constantly about their "responsibility to the community".. Qwelane said: "We started saying it in the 70s, & it is truer now than ever: We are black before we are journalists Facts are sacred-we certainly have no need to exaggerate the situation-but the only journalism worth doing in our situation is crusading journlism, work that will help advance our struggle.
"Everybody is exaggerating the situation.
But Nigeria's president has now accused the UN and aid agencies of deliberately exaggerating the situation in the north-east to increase the amount of aid.
The musicians contend that management is exaggerating the situation and that filing for bankruptcy will undermine the orchestra's quality and discourage donors.
But Larry Gottlieb, a spokesman for Entergy, the company that owns Indian Point, said the watchdog groups were recklessly exaggerating the situation.
