What I like to call "armchair" persecution.
I theorise that since the Bible speaks about how the true believers will find themselves being persecuted, and that such persecution is a sign you're on the right path, it pulls at the conscience of many overweight, under exercised middle class westerners that their lives are somewhat lacking in persecution, and so to cover this seeming gap in their spiritual lives, they'll desperately take anything remotely misconstruable as persecution and wrap it around themselves like a big reasuring blanket.
..."unfounded internet rumour that one of the Columbine murderers asked someone if they were a Christian before he killed her? HE WAS PERSECUTING CHRISTIANS! Thank goodness, Christians are being persecuted, I am a Christian, therefore I am being persecuted, QED. I'm so glad I can sleep soundly in my warm queen size bed after eating twice my daily recomended caloric requirement and not feel guilty about the world's poor or starving. What with me being PERSECUTED and all, I must be on the right track. I can't wait for the "war on Christmas" to start up to make me feel even more persecuted and thereby justify my blatant crass consumerism!"