A new type of video is spreading across Iran. People record themselves holding their purchases, say the prices of what they bought, and then dance.

Four eggs and one sausage: 500,000 tomans. A soft drink and a pack of chips: 350,000 tomans. Six eggs and a can of tuna. Three small bags of groceries cost 7.5 million tomans; an amount close to half of the monthly pay for work at minimum wage.

Each of them says the reason they are smiling. One of the men says: “I’m very happy, because if I’m not happy, they’ll execute me.” Others say that otherwise they will be labeled with tags such as “rioter,” “traitor,” “mercenary,” or “agent of Mossad.”

Islamic Republic officials usually accuse those who talk about the country’s economic situation of “black propaganda,” and people have also been detained and tried on the basis of such allegations.