PARIS — In a bid to stop the flow of disaffected youth to the battlefields of Syria and Iraq, the French government on Wednesday released a graphic two-minute video showing clips of executions, wounded children and crucifixions that tells potential recruits that the glory promised to them is a lie.

The video, which appears on an Interior Ministry website, Stop Djihadisme, raises what the government believes are the top arguments made by the Islamic State terrorist group and other jihadist recruiters and turns them upside down, point-counterpoint style. It is meant to blunt the appeal of such recruiters, many of whom disseminate their messages through Facebook and online videos.

“You are told: ‘Sacrifice yourself at our side, you will defend a fair cause,'” the video says. “In reality, you will discover hell on earth and you will die alone, far from your home.”

At another point, it says: “You are told: ‘Come start a family with one of our heroes.’ In reality, you will raise your children in war and terror.” More than 350,000 people have already watched the video on a video-sharing website, Dailymotion.