I feel like this was a con, and yet I also feel strong social pressure to not share this opinion with my friends and co-workers. 1) Did the 9 year old write an

I feel like this was a con, and yet I also feel strong social pressure to not share this opinion with my friends and co-workers. 1) Did the 9 year old write any of that appeal? I don't think so. Sure, her mom may have written it with her prompting - but the entire appeal feels too well-constructed to pull at heartstrings. There's something... gimmicky about it, something that makes me feel like the appeal isn't genuine. 2) Was this kickstarter really about making a game? No, she's going to a camp to learn about making games - which is cool in theory, if there actually is a little girl and she actually is going to that camp. But it does also mean that the whole premise of the kickstarter's title is misleading at best. 3) The sudden stretch goal bonuses (where'd all this merch come from?) seemed highly questionable as well, and counter to the goal - if she just needs money to go to some camp, why even HAVE stretch goals? This feels like someone who played the system, creating a false situation to gain profit from people. I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that there isn't actually a kid at all - that it's not even a parent who got greedy, but someone who just flat-out lied to get a good chunk of change. A lot of people I know seem to believe it unquestioningly, which makes me wonder whether I'm being paranoid. But my gut tells me that if I heard a story like this while walking down the street, I wouldn't give them a dollar (and I frequently give people on the street asking for money a dollar). Especially if they started pulling out merch in exchange for additional donations. I also love that this article vilifies people who appropriately point out the skeptical parts of this whole situation. I love a feel-good story as much as anyone else when it's real... but this situation throws up more red flags than a well-bribed soccer referee.