It’s doesn’t matter whether you “believe” need-blind is legit.
OP, you have many misunderstandings here, which could have been checked, especially if these matter to you.
No, the colleges do not run “background checks on applicants’ FB and other online profiles…” Nor on parents. LOTS of kids have issues with a parent.
You don’t know kids who had their own or family problems, but of course they exist. You just don’t know them.
Questbridge is not a guarantee of an admit.
Berkeley is not Southern CA. And for heaven’s sake, there are plenty of conservative (and/or very religious) Asian families/kids in all of California. Lots of kids dedicated to their academics, research, and internships- NOTbeaching and dancing.
Where do these ideas come from?
And why apply to UCB and UCLA if you dismiss them so easily?