I find it completely absurd that children are willing to jump to such outlandish conclusions out of denial. Instead of their glorious (and definitely not Yakuza-backed) Japanese mega-corporation, with a documented incredibly litigious history, children are still peddling stories pinning it on one man. The supposed "Aaron Peters" figure either does not exist or, if he does, likely works as an actual legal official for MarkMonitor.

The reason for pinning it on this man? Simple, out of denial, children spun a tale that would inspire hope. Obviously, a legal pursuit against Nintendo would be a hopeless endeavor. So, out of denial, children hope that it's one "fraudster", who wouldn't (as a smaller entity than Nintendo) have sufficient legal funds to make legal action as fruitless. Hell, that's how this thread originally started, as an anti "Aaron Peters" thread with very loose evidence, which is likely responsible for the spread of these stories amongst children. Yet the rumors have grown out of hand, and even after this thread and all other reputable sources have abandoned them, they're still being peddled.

In situations like this, it is best to employ the use of Occam's Razor. The fewer moving parts and hoops your theory has to jump through, the more realistic it is. If Facepunch is saying it's Nintendo, and there's no evidence against it being Nintendo (and yes, there almost certainly isn't any evidence clearing Nintendo's name, anyone claiming otherwise is absolutely grasping at straws), then it bloody likely is Nintendo's doing.

Yet, even still, children are radicalized in their hope that this can all be "set straight". They go and harass anyone with the name "Aaron Peters" they can find. They call anyone who opposes their cause "censorship lovers", as though opposing a theory with no evidence automatically means one believes that Nintendo's behavior is justified. I, for one, do not think Nintendo should do what they have done, but they do have the legal right to do it. I grew up with many of the maps being removed, and made abominable creations with many of the models being threatened. I don't like the situation any more than any reasonable person would, but that doesn't mean that I need to be feverishly opposed to the idea that Nintendo did it. Perhaps it just takes some growing up to realize that Nintendo sucks, and hasn't even really produced anything worthwhile since the end of the Wii era.

Doxxing, harassing, and witchhunting people based on their name over some Splatoon OC ragdolls getting taken down is absolutely insane. I wouldn't personally feel safe if my name was Aaron Peters right now, solely because some freak with mental disorders would almost certainly be stalking me with the most malicious intent.

Unfortunately, I don't expect to be able to stop people from spreading their misinformation and lies about this situation, as this will likely register as nothing but a fizzling match-head under the weight of a tidal wave of Nintendo fans who simply don't want to believe that Nintendo could do something like this. But I won't stand for absurd conspiracy theories about the FBI and CIA investigating some guy who made "false copyright claims" when there's no evidence to support any of it outside of the emotional reactions of children. I do hope, however, that at least somebody will see this and think twice about jumping to conclusions that don't really make sense outside of the mind of a child.