Fakelore

Fakelore or pseudo-folklore is inauthentic, manufactured folklore presented as if it were genuinely traditional. Over the last several decades the term has generally fallen out of favor in the academic study of folklore because it places an unnecessary emphasis on origin (instead of ongoing practice) to determine authenticity. The term can refer to new stories or songs made up, or to folklore that is reworked and modified for modern tastes. The element of misrepresentation is central; artists who draw on traditional stories in their work are not producing fakelore unless they claim that their creations are real folklore.