Episode 1 – How Propaganda Can Make People See Others as Less Than Human

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Neek podcast, where we explore the way people influence and shape how we see things.

My name is Milad, and today, we’re going to talk about a powerful and often sneaky tool called propaganda. Specifically, we’ll look at how it can make us see others as less human and persuade us to agree with certain ideas.

Propaganda is a word that’s used to describe something that’s filled with meaning. It’s a tool people use to make us think a certain way, create opinions, and sometimes even make us dislike people who are different from us. But how does it do that?

Well, at its core, propaganda deceives our feelings, biases, and unfair judgments. It tells a story that makes complicated things seem simple and makes the people who don’t agree with us look really bad.

One of the scariest things about propaganda is how it can make us forget that other people are human too. Whether there’s a war, political arguments, or disagreements in society, propaganda uses hurtful words and pictures to make people on the other side seem less than human. When that happens, it’s easier for people to treat them badly and be cruel.

History has a lot of examples of propaganda being used to make people seem less human. It’s been used in wars to make the other side look like monsters, or in politics to make people with different ideas seem really bad. And when this happens, it gets people to support bad things.

Propaganda doesn’t just change how we see things; it can also change how we act. When propaganda makes us see others as not quite human, we stop caring about their feelings, and that can lead to discrimination, violence, and even really terrible things like genocide. It shows how powerful words and pictures can be in shaping what we think is okay.

Now, let’s look at how propaganda does this. It often uses words that make people seem like they’re not really human, reducing them to just labels or stereotypes. And it also uses pictures, like cartoons or altered images, to make those ideas even stronger.

But who’s responsible for this? Well, it’s all of us. When we’re bombarded with propaganda that makes others look bad, we need to think carefully about what we’re seeing and hearing. Unfortunately, sometimes our own unfair judgments and the desire to fit in with our group can make us forget that others are human too.

So, can we do something to stop this manipulation? Yes, we can. Education, thinking carefully, and showing empathy are our friends here. By recognizing when propaganda is being used, asking questions, and trying to understand what others think, we can resist seeing them as less human and make our society kinder.

It’s our job to stand up against this kind of hurtful propaganda. We can do that by talking openly, being understanding, and helping others become better at understanding the media they see. Let’s try to see the humanity in every person, even if they have different beliefs or backgrounds.

As we finish today’s look into how propaganda makes us see others as less human, remember that being aware of this trick is like having armor against it. By knowing how it works, asking questions, and being empathetic, we can try to build bridges between people instead of putting up walls.

Thank you for joining me on the Neek Podcast. Until next time, let’s keep searching for the truth. And always remember:

“Human beings are all part of one big family,

هn the grand scheme of things, we’re all one entity.

If one of us is hurting, it affects us all,

So let’s show compassion, and humanity we shall call.”

1. Propaganda: Propaganda is information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view.
   • Farsi: تبلیغات
2. Deceives: To deceive means to make someone believe something that is not true, usually in order to gain some personal advantage.
   • Farsi: فریب دادن
3. Biases: A bias is a tendency to prefer one person or thing to another, and to favor that person or thing. Biases can be unfair and based on preconceived notions.
   • Farsi: سوگیری
4. Discrimination: is the unfair treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex.
   • Farsi: تبعیض
5. Genocide: is the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.
   • Farsi: نسل‌کشی
6. Empathy: is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person.
   • Farsi: همدلی
7. Manipulation: is controlling someone or something to your own advantage, often unfairly or dishonestly.
   • Farsi: دستکاری
8. Humanity: refers to the human race collectively. It can also refer to the qualities of being humane and compassionate.
   • Farsi: بشریت

Discussion Questions:

1. How does propaganda manipulate our emotions and perceptions to view others as less than human, and can you provide contemporary or historical examples?
2. In what ways have you observed propaganda influencing societal attitudes towards different groups, either in the media or in your personal experiences?
3. Discuss the psychological mechanisms that make individuals susceptible to propaganda, particularly the kind that dehumanizes others.
4. How can education and critical thinking skills be utilized to counteract the effects of propaganda, especially in today’s digital media landscape?
5. What role does empathy play in resisting the dehumanizing effects of propaganda, and how can we cultivate it in our communities?
6. In the context of the podcast, what responsibilities do individuals have in recognizing and responding to propaganda in their daily lives?
7. Reflect on the statement from the podcast, “If one of us is hurting, it affects us all.” How does this idea relate to the importance of understanding and countering propaganda?