I have a keen interest in folklore and this subject took my fancy.
For some years now True-love's American friends have been sending, by email, fake stories supposedly from here in Australia. They are quite familiar to us all as hoax stories and are widely circulated on the net. I'm wondering why so many are claimed to be Australian with Australian references and locations. Sometimes with actual people named. Often they are about gun laws and use of guns. Revenge and personal protection feature and some are thinly disguised porn. The tag-line is usually something like
"... and if this was America that brave old lady would not have been allowed to carry a gun."
Some stories relate to American right-wing politics.
The stories usually have very obvious mistakes. Like misconceptions about Australian gun laws and use of Americanisms uncommon in Australia. One, claimed to be from an Australian newspaper, was accomanied by a cartoon with the logo of the Times-Picayune in the corner.
I note that, regarding the gun-use stories, Australia is seen as the new Wild West but the stories urban tales.
Cheers, Joy