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Kickstarter tells creators to stop calling projects 'the ultimate'

Creators need to stop exaggerating about their projects, Kickstarter says.

Corinne Reichert Senior Editor
Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.
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Corinne Reichert
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Kickstarter says stop using puffery like "the ultimate" and "unrivaled" when seeking backers for projects.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter has told its users to avoid using dubious and exaggerated claims when marketing their projects to potential backers. This includes "puffery" like world's best, smallest, fastest, first, ultimate, unrivaled and revolutionary.

The global crowdfunding platform has helped projects like a smart cheesemaker, a Dungeons & Dragons animated series and ketchup slices get off the ground, but now Kickstarter is warning its creators to avoid making claims that can't be proven.

Instead, it says to "underpromise and overdeliver."

In a post called "Honest and Clear Presentation in Projects", spotted earlier by The Verge, Kickstarter calls trust and transparency the foundation of its platform.

"Because of this, we expect creators to bring an exceptional level of honesty, openness and candor to both how they present their ideas and how they run their campaigns," Kickstarter said.

The platform also said to be transparent about a project's funding goal and popularity; present it as an idea rather than a finished product; describe any risks or challenges; and introduce the team behind the project.

Kickstarter additionally set out its rules for product imagery, including to use "honest and transparent" pictures and to show off a prototype.