Why would they feel bad or offended about you asking them where they're from? That's already a weird state for people's psyche to be in. That negative link betw

Why would they feel bad or offended about you asking them where they're from? That's already a weird state for people's psyche to be in. That negative link between "asking where they're from" and the person having negative feelings is precisely the effect that the "propaganda" as OP called it is having on people.