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Hobbits in 'Mask up America' ad created by WarnerMedia in partnership with CDC, Feb. 10, 2021.WarnerMedia / video screen grab

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UNITED STATES, February 12, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – In what might be best described as textbook propaganda, the entertainment industry has teamed up with a federal health agency to create an ad aimed at kids where heroes such as Harry Potter, Wonder Woman, and the Hobbits are seen in memorable moments from their films, but all wearing masks. The ad aims at driving home the highly disputed claim that masks stop COVID-19’s spread.

The 30-second Public Service Announcement, created by WarnerMedia in partnership with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Ad Council, shows famous clips from the movies, but with the difference that all the heroes along with the villains are wearing face masks.

Neo from The Matrix is seen bending backward dodging a bullet while wearing a mask. Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort are seen during the final battle, both wearing masks. Hobbits Frodo and Sam along with Merry and Pippin from The Lord of the Rings are seen drawing their swords, all four of them wearing masks. Wonder Woman is seen destroying her enemies while wearing a mask.

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Even Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman from “Casablanca” are seen wearing masks at the moment when Bogart says the famous lines, ‘Here’s looking at you, kid.” The ad even features the bad guys donning masks, such as Pennywise from “It” and the Joker who has a mask that matches his costume.

The following text appears interspersed between clips of the famous movie characters: “Let’s get back to doing our favorite things, whatever that might be. Slow the spread. Mask up America.”

The ad is part of Ad Council’s “Mask Up America” campaign that began last July in partnership with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, reported Ad Age. The campaign’s ads have generated over 154 million impressions across TV, digital and social media.

Dennis Williams, senior VP of corporate social responsibility at WarnerMedia, said that the media company is “proud to help educate and inform our fans about the importance of mask wearing during this pandemic.”

“Wearing a mask is an effective way to protect ourselves and our loved-ones from COVID-19. We hope that by seeing some of our favorite heroes and characters masked up, our fans will follow suit. Mask wearing is a simple step we all can take to show up and support our communities during this difficult time,” he said.

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While the CDC claims that wearing a mask during the COVID outbreak “helps reduce the risk of spread both by close contact and by airborne transmission,” scientific studies, doctors, and real-world data says otherwise. The following resources make the case that masks are ineffective in stopping the spread of COVID:

In the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, the U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams counseled against wearing masks as did White House COVID adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, all claiming that masks were not effective in preventing the general public from stopping the spread of COVID-19. “Seriously people—STOP BUYING MASKS!” Surgeon General Adams tweeted last February. “They are NOT effective in preventing [the] general public from catching #Coronavirus.” In a similar vein, Fauci told CBSNews’ 60 Minutes in a March 8 interview that “there's no reason to be walking around with a mask” because they don’t provide the kind of protection against COVID-19 that people think they do, adding that they only make people “feel” safe.

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Implementing a “nationwide mask mandate” has been one of Biden’s campaign promises. Last December, Biden said he would require Americans to wear a mask for 100 days when he assumed office, calling it a “patriotic act.”

“On day one, I’ll sign an executive order to require masks everywhere I can,” he said on Dec. 9. True to his promise, on Jan. 20, Biden signed an executive order that all Federal employees must wear masks while in Federal buildings and on Federal lands.

On Feb. 2, the CDC made it a federal crime to board “planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation” without wearing a mask.