Lindsay Clancy fan behind $1.2M GoFundMe reveals reason she’s raising money — and it could enrich killer mom

The detail that sticks in our throat is how casual this all sounds. A stranger, Brandee Mulligan, sets up a GoFundMe that’s already hit $1.2 million for Lindsay Clancy, without talking to Clancy, her ex-husband, or either set of parents. No relationship. No permission. Just a page, a pitch, and a donation button. That’s not support. That’s a business model.

If you’re the donor, you deserve to know where your money is going and who decided that. If you’re the families living through this nightmare, you deserve not to have your tragedy turned into someone else’s side hustle or crusade. And if the stated “reason” for raising the money could end up enriching Clancy herself, people should be able to see that, in plain English, before they click “donate.” A tragedy isn’t a crowdfunding content strategy.

The bigger problem is the way these platforms blur the line between charity and propaganda. A well-written fundraiser can launder almost anything into “help.” The page creator gets to frame the story, pick the beneficiary, and ride the wave of attention, while the people closest to the case are left to clean up the mess. That isn’t compassion. It’s emotional arbitrage. GoFundMe can’t be a morality-free zone.

There’s an easy fix here: require proof of authorization for big-ticket fundraisers tied to criminal cases, clear disclosure on where funds can legally go, and a pause when the organizer has no connection to the person involved. Until then, decent people will keep getting played. And the internet will keep turning the worst days of someone’s life into a cash pile for whoever shows up first with a link.