Have social media followers, almost without realising it, become an informal emergency fund for the people they watch every day?

A public figure can spend months projecting an image of comfort, success and an enviable lifestyle, only to turn to the same audience for help when an unexpected bill arrives.

Sometimes the appeal follows a genuine tragedy. At other times, it is for a birthday party, an event, equipment, a luxury purchase or expenses that look more like wants than emergencies.

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