{"id":9405,"date":"2023-12-03T11:59:46","date_gmt":"2023-12-03T11:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/?p=9405"},"modified":"2023-12-04T05:16:38","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T05:16:38","slug":"misleading-claims-surrounding-drone-insecticide-spraying-in-medirigiriya-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/misleading-claims-surrounding-drone-insecticide-spraying-in-medirigiriya-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact Check: Misleading Claims Surrounding Drone Insecticide Spraying in Medirigiriya, Sri Lanka"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-background has-medium-font-size\"style=\"background-color:#b6babf91\"><strong>\u0daf\u0dd2\u0db1\u0db4\u0dad\u0dcf <strong>\u0dc3\u0dad\u0dca\u200d\u0dba \u0d9a\u0dbb\u0dd4\u0dab\u0dd4<\/strong> \u0daf\u0dd0\u0db1 \u0d9c\u0dd0\u0db1\u0dd3\u0db8\u0da7 \u0d85\u0db4\u0d9c\u0dda WhatsApp \u0dc3\u0db8\u0dd4\u0dc4\u0dba\u0da7<a href=\" https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/K4r6Egv9ZhC221z1bD3jn0\">\u0db8\u0dd9\u0dad\u0db1\u0dd2\u0db1\u0dca<\/a> \u0d91\u0d9a\u0dad\u0dd4\u0dc0\u0db1\u0dca\u0db1.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Drone technology is not a novel concept, even in Sri Lanka, as it has been employed for various purposes, such as security, apart from the more common use of photography. Notably, the NPP-led Medirigiriya co-operative recently used drone technology for cultivation by spraying insecticides in paddy fields. This incident gained significant attention, especially on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While some individuals criticized the event, deeming it commonplace globally, others lauded the initiative. Consequently, social media witnessed a diverse range of reactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amid this, misleading posts increased, with some fabricating false narratives by using unrelated photos. Let&#8217;s look at the claim of one such viral post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Social Media Posts<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Social media posts say that a youth born in a rural area in Horowpathana attended the University of Moratuwa&#8217;s engineering faculty, secured a job in the NPP-led co-operative Medirigiriya, and conducted drone insecticide spraying in paddy fields within six months of employment. These claims are supported by a collection of photos, as seen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"829\" src=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9408\" style=\"width:367px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-1.png 684w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-1-248x300.png 248w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 684px) 100vw, 684px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/manori.namarathna\/posts\/pfbid0nDcnMdjqGyfuDkVCVNu1jn9QbbgNFGuhbTqwR4mJCHqPZcUgyRXFXKaBG84sSKdUl\">Facebook<\/a>| <a href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/yvmsleqj\">Archived<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Users commented on it like below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"502\" height=\"516\" src=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9409\" style=\"width:390px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-2.png 502w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-2-292x300.png 292w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 502px) 100vw, 502px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>These claims were shared widely among Facebook users as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"299\" src=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-3-1024x299.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-3-1024x299.png 1024w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-3-300x88.png 300w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-3-768x225.png 768w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-3.png 1125w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Fact Check:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The claim that the individual performed drone insecticide spraying within six months of employment in the Medirigiriya co-operative lacks credible evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Unrelated Stock Images Used in Viral Photo Posts<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Reverse Image Search reveals that the photos used in social media posts are misleading and belong to unrelated events, some from foreign countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All the photos used in these viral posts can be found in Freepik and Alamy&#8217;s stock images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"741\" height=\"558\" src=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-4.png 741w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-4-300x226.png 300w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-4-136x102.png 136w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 741px) 100vw, 741px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/B4Q13\">Freepik<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"877\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-6.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-6.png 877w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-6-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-6-768x328.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 877px) 100vw, 877px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/SBbWq\">Alamy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"927\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-7.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-7.png 927w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-7-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-7-768x489.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/bvzWx\">FreePik<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Discrepancies in Video Evidence:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>An analysis of the video posted on the co-operative chairman&#8217;s Facebook account reveals differences in the environment and type of drones compared to the viral photos. The discrepancy suggests that the images circulating on social media do not accurately represent the actual drone spraying event in Medirigiriya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=316&#038;href=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.facebook.com%2F100091053773069%2Fvideos%2F1162521948068989%2F&#038;show_text=false&#038;width=560&#038;t=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"316\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowFullScreen=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Medirigiriya Cooperative Chairman:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Medirigiriya Co-operative chairman Aruna Shantha rejected the social media narrative and said it&#8217;s an idea of a co-operative with no involvement of a Moratuwa Engineering Faculty graduate and no engineering graduate working at the Co-operative. He further said it&#8217;s a pilot project that started on November 29 and will continue. He further stated they sprayed insecticide for around&nbsp;8&nbsp;acres on the first day.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sri Lankan Youth Sankalpa de Silva Had Designed and Employed Drones for Spraying Insecticides in Polonnaruwa Area; However he was not inovoved in Medirigiriya Project<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>We further searched for similar projects in Sri Lanka. A youth named Sankalpa de Silva, a collaborating Partner&nbsp;at Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies, had designed a drone that can spray insecticides and pesticides covering an area of 2.5 acres in 4 minutes, saving 60% of all insecticides and herbicides used for rice cultivation. He had worked with a few Polonnaruwa Mahaweli &#8216;B&#8217; Zone villagers. He has been doing such projects for around three years now. More on this <a href=\"https:\/\/archives1.dailynews.lk\/2023\/06\/29\/local\/306654\/youth-designs-agricultural-drone\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankadeepa.lk\/news\/%E0%B6%9C%E0%B7%9C%E0%B7%80%E0%B7%92-%E0%B6%B6%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%B8%E0%B6%A7-%E2%80%8C%E0%B6%BA%E0%B7%9D%E0%B6%BA%E0%B7%99%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%8A-%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%BB%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%B8%E0%B7%8F%E0%B6%AB%E0%B6%BA-%E0%B6%9A%E0%B6%BB%E0%B6%BA%E0%B7%92\/101-634627\">here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We contacted Sankalpa de Silva to check whether his drones were employed in insecticide spraying in Medirigiriya. He said that he had no affiliation with politics, that his drones were not used in Medirigiriya either, and that, according to his knowledge, the drones employed for Medirigiriya operation were imported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow us and stay up to date with our latest fact checks. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/factcrescendosl\/\">Facebook<\/a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/factcrescendosl\">Twitter<\/a>&nbsp;|<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/factcrescendo_sl\/\">Instagram<\/a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMODMpgswyNe-Aw\">Google News<\/a><strong> | <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@factcrescendosl\">TikTok<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<!DOCTYPE html>\n\t\t\t\t\t<html>\n\t\t\t\t\t<head>\n\t\t\t\t\t<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>\n\t\t\t\t\t.container {\n\t\t\t\t\t  border: 2px solid #000;\n\t\t\t\t\t  background-color: #eee;\n\t\t\t\t\t  border-radius: 5px;\n\t\t\t\t\t  padding: 16px;\n\t\t\t\t\t  margin: 16px 0\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t\t\t.container::after {\n\t\t\t\t\t  content: \"\";\n\t\t\t\t\t  clear: both;\n\t\t\t\t\t  display: table;\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t\t\t.container img {\n\t\t\t\t\t  float: left;\n\t\t\t\t\t  margin-right: 20px;\n\t\t\t\t\t  border-radius: 50%;\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t\t\t.container span {\n\t\t\t\t\t  font-size: 20px;\n\t\t\t\t\t  margin-right: 15px;\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t\t\t@media (max-width: 500px) {\n\t\t\t\t\t  .container {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  text-align: center;\n\t\t\t\t\t  }\n\t\t\t\t\t  .container img {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  margin: auto;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  float: none;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  display: block;\n\t\t\t\t\t  }\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/head>\n\t\t\t\t\t<body>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Misleading.png\n\" alt=\"Avatar\" style=\"width:120px\">\n\t\t\t\t\t  <p><span>Title:<\/span>Fact Check: Misleading Claims Surrounding Drone Insecticide Spraying in Medirigiriya, Sri Lanka<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t  <strong>Written By:&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:info@factcrescendo.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kalana Krishantha<\/a>&nbsp;<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t  <p><strong>Result:<\/strong> Misleading <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/body>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/html>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?phone=94771514696&#038;text=Please%20send%20your%20query:%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2481\" src=\"http:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Whats-app-sri-lanka-new.png\" alt=\"\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u0daf\u0dd2\u0db1\u0db4\u0dad\u0dcf \u0dc3\u0dad\u0dca\u200d\u0dba \u0d9a\u0dbb\u0dd4\u0dab\u0dd4 \u0daf\u0dd0\u0db1 \u0d9c\u0dd0\u0db1\u0dd3\u0db8\u0da7 \u0d85\u0db4\u0d9c\u0dda WhatsApp \u0dc3\u0db8\u0dd4\u0dc4\u0dba\u0da7\u0db8\u0dd9\u0dad\u0db1\u0dd2\u0db1\u0dca \u0d91\u0d9a\u0dad\u0dd4\u0dc0\u0db1\u0dca\u0db1. Drone technology is not a novel concept, even in Sri Lanka, as it has been employed for various purposes, such as security, apart from the more common use of photography. Notably, the NPP-led Medirigiriya co-operative recently used drone technology for cultivation by spraying insecticides in paddy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":9421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[279,8],"tags":[2311,2314,2312,1646,2313,2316,2315,22,2317],"class_list":["post-9405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-misleading","category-social","tag-cooperative","tag-drones","tag-medirigiriya","tag-npp","tag-paddy-fields","tag-pesticide","tag-spraying-insecticides","tag-sri-lanka","tag-2317"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Fact Check: Misleading Claims Surrounding Drone Insecticide Spraying in Medirigiriya, Sri Lanka - Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/misleading-claims-surrounding-drone-insecticide-spraying-in-medirigiriya-sri-lanka\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fact Check: Misleading Claims Surrounding Drone Insecticide Spraying in Medirigiriya, Sri Lanka - Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u0daf\u0dd2\u0db1\u0db4\u0dad\u0dcf \u0dc3\u0dad\u0dca\u200d\u0dba \u0d9a\u0dbb\u0dd4\u0dab\u0dd4 \u0daf\u0dd0\u0db1 \u0d9c\u0dd0\u0db1\u0dd3\u0db8\u0da7 \u0d85\u0db4\u0d9c\u0dda WhatsApp \u0dc3\u0db8\u0dd4\u0dc4\u0dba\u0da7\u0db8\u0dd9\u0dad\u0db1\u0dd2\u0db1\u0dca \u0d91\u0d9a\u0dad\u0dd4\u0dc0\u0db1\u0dca\u0db1. Drone technology is not a novel concept, even in Sri Lanka, as it has been employed for various purposes, such as security, apart from the more common use of photography. Notably, the NPP-led Medirigiriya co-operative recently used drone technology for cultivation by spraying insecticides in paddy [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/misleading-claims-surrounding-drone-insecticide-spraying-in-medirigiriya-sri-lanka\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-03T11:59:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-04T05:16:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"622\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"420\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kalana Krishantha\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kalana Krishantha\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/misleading-claims-surrounding-drone-insecticide-spraying-in-medirigiriya-sri-lanka\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/misleading-claims-surrounding-drone-insecticide-spraying-in-medirigiriya-sri-lanka\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kalana Krishantha\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/89e2b8eb8dfc3052c9ff8801aee35edc\"},\"headline\":\"Fact Check: Misleading Claims Surrounding Drone Insecticide Spraying in Medirigiriya, Sri Lanka\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-03T11:59:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-04T05:16:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/misleading-claims-surrounding-drone-insecticide-spraying-in-medirigiriya-sri-lanka\/\"},\"wordCount\":590,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/misleading-claims-surrounding-drone-insecticide-spraying-in-medirigiriya-sri-lanka\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/1.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Cooperative\",\"Drones\",\"Medirigiriya\",\"NPP\",\"Paddy Fields\",\"Pesticide\",\"Spraying Insecticides\",\"Sri Lanka\",\"\u0db8\u0dd0\u0daf\u0dd2\u0dbb\u0dd2\u0d9c\u0dd2\u0dbb\u0dd2\u0dba\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Misleading\",\"Social\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/misleading-claims-surrounding-drone-insecticide-spraying-in-medirigiriya-sri-lanka\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/misleading-claims-surrounding-drone-insecticide-spraying-in-medirigiriya-sri-lanka\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/misleading-claims-surrounding-drone-insecticide-spraying-in-medirigiriya-sri-lanka\/\",\"name\":\"Fact Check: Misleading Claims Surrounding Drone Insecticide Spraying in Medirigiriya, Sri Lanka - 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