Watch: Homophobic teen turns into Hitler in Polish anti-bullying ad
A Polish ad campaign challenging hate speech sees a girl spouting homophobia turn into Adolf Hitler.
The ad, released by Polish Batory Foundation, sees a gay couple walking through a train station late at night.
However, they are spotted by a group of teens – one of whom begins spouting anti-gay abuse.
The initially blonde girl tells her friends: “Did you see them? Pansies or what?”
As she continues to rant, her clothes fly off, to be replaced by a brown shirt, her hair darkens, and she grows a moustache – morphing into the Nazi leader.
She shouts: “They can do whatever they want at home, but walking together like that is too much! I see faggots everywhere! I want to puke when I look at them!”
Her friends then question: “Really, you want to look like that?!”
The ad has received a mixed reaction online, receiving nearly twice as many dislikes as likes on YouTube.
However, speaking to CNN Batory Foundation spokeswoman Agata Szypulska said the campaign was trying to tackle the extremes of hate speech among Polish teens.
She said: “We’re targeting young people aged 15-18, and the reason we did that is because last year, we published the first nationwide report, called ‘Hate Speech in Poland’ which indicated that young people are more likely to accept hate speech to specific minority groups than adults.”
“We also wanted to use a person and symbol that would be recognizable. We wanted to show that hate speech is not just words — that words can lead to actions.”
“I think in the Polish context, it’s pretty obvious that Hitler harassed and murdered people because of ethnicity and because of things you cannot change.”
