That is the point made in the video I posted, though she uses the example of literally burning someone's house down and that they wouldn't know if she meant it literally or figuratively.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/literally
Definition of literally in English:
adverb
1In a literal manner or sense; exactly: the driver took it literally when asked to go straight over the roundabout tiramisu, literally translated ‘pull-me-up’
More example sentences...