Equating Santa Claus to Lying to Kids

I've been seeing this mindset on social media a lot lately. People say that telling kids Santa Claus is real, or even making any reference to him, is deceitful to children. I've even seen people describe how believing in Santa is a sign of a privileged lifestyle, and that since the world is going to hell anyways, there is no point in letting kids believe in anything anymore.

I really hate how this doomer mentality is spreading, and how there seems to be either a mismatch of perspectives or of values. Santa doesn't represent material goods or consumerism (though I know his whole thing is bringing presents). It's about the theme of spreading joy and cheer to everyone.

To be projecting adult anxieties and fears onto fairy tale characters and equating it to something as drastic as deception is just immature to me. It's a story. It's literally for fun. I don't see this kind of vitriol against any other holiday or fairy tale character, and to be projecting adult fears of the world onto a fictional character is something I just can't wrap my head around.