Since when did stuff need to be "true story" to upvote?

When it is either assumed to be a true story or implied to be one when it is, in fact, the opposite.

If the message had been, "Hey everybody! Look at this fake letter to the editor!" then it would have been boring, but at least have been honest. Instead, the idea is to generate outrage and excitement by implying it was real. "Those stupid theists!"

There are enough real and substantive instances of persecution atheists face, we don't need fake ones. If there aren't any real and substantive instances of persecution, then we don't need to manufacture them just to play the victim. That is, after all, why we point out the absurdity of the "war on christmas" concept.