To stop fake news, challenge your own views first | Lionel Page | TEDxQUT
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0:09 - 0:11Today, in the palm of your hand,
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0:11 - 0:14you have access to a world of information.
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0:15 - 0:18You can reach a multitude of new sources
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0:18 - 0:21and exchange your views
with a wide range of people -
0:21 - 0:22all over the world.
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0:23 - 0:27This new reality should allow us
to share a wisdom, -
0:27 - 0:30to communicate, to understand each other
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0:31 - 0:34and to become more understanding
of our differences, -
0:34 - 0:36more tolerant of our differences.
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0:37 - 0:41But 2016 seems to have replaced
the information age -
0:41 - 0:43with the post-truth era.
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0:44 - 0:46With Brexit and the Trump election,
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0:46 - 0:48we have found, we have discovered,
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0:48 - 0:52that more communication
doesn't mean more information. -
0:54 - 0:56Let me show you what I mean.
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0:59 - 1:04Here is a picture of the
Trump inauguration ceremony in 2017, -
1:04 - 1:08and the same picture of the
Obama inauguration ceremony in 2009. -
1:09 - 1:12The White House declared
that the Trump ceremony -
1:12 - 1:14had been the largest in history.
-
1:17 - 1:19Did you know
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1:19 - 1:22that 28% of Trump supporters
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1:22 - 1:26said they believed there were
as many people, if not more, -
1:26 - 1:28at the Trump ceremony.
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1:28 - 1:3030% said they didn't know.
They were not sure. -
1:31 - 1:34And 41%, that is less than half,
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1:34 - 1:38said that they disagreed
with the White House statement. -
1:39 - 1:43When you see these pictures,
these views may seem crazy. -
1:44 - 1:47So how is it that people can believe
something so clearly untrue? -
1:48 - 1:49But wait a minute,
-
1:49 - 1:53Are you sure that you would never
believe something so clearly untrue? -
1:54 - 1:55Think about it.
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1:55 - 1:58These pictures are not proof.
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1:58 - 2:00They could have been photoshopped.
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2:00 - 2:02They could have been swapped.
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2:03 - 2:05So when somebody raises
these doubts to you, -
2:05 - 2:08you will have to use your own judgment
-
2:08 - 2:10to weigh the evidence
and make up your mind. -
2:11 - 2:14So now suppose that you were
a Trump supporter. -
2:14 - 2:16Are you sure
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2:16 - 2:18that you would not give any credence
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2:18 - 2:19to somebody raising these doubts?
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2:20 - 2:22Are you sure that you
would never entertain -
2:22 - 2:25that perhaps there were more people
at the Trump ceremony, -
2:25 - 2:27and that these pictures are not proof?
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2:28 - 2:30Today, I want to put to you
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2:30 - 2:34that the cause of the fake news success
lies primarily with us. -
2:34 - 2:36Fake news works
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2:36 - 2:38because we are willing to believe it.
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2:38 - 2:41And because we are willing to believe it,
we lie to ourselves. -
2:43 - 2:45If we want a sound public debate,
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2:45 - 2:49we need to stop lying to ourselves
when we engage with the news. -
2:51 - 2:54Let's consider an ideal public debate,
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2:54 - 2:57and think about it as a battle of ideas.
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2:58 - 3:00All ideas are voiced and debated.
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3:01 - 3:05A good idea is convincing,
and it wins over less convincing ideas. -
3:06 - 3:08The philosopher Karl Popper
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3:08 - 3:11said that this process
should lead public debate -
3:11 - 3:13to select the best ideas.
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3:14 - 3:18Unconvincing ideas disappear,
and only the good ones survive. -
3:19 - 3:23And science seems like a perfect example
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3:23 - 3:26where public debate
leads to selection of the best ideas. -
3:27 - 3:29With this view in mind,
-
3:29 - 3:33the Internet should have
a positive effect on public debate. -
3:33 - 3:37On the Internet, ideas are free
to be voiced and criticized. -
3:38 - 3:42Good ideas should be able to convince
more people and spread around, -
3:43 - 3:44and bad ideas are abandoned.
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3:45 - 3:47But when you look,
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3:47 - 3:50that's not necessarily what is happening
on the Internet at the moment. -
3:51 - 3:52So why is that?
-
3:52 - 3:58Well, perhaps, this view
of the public debate is a bit unrealistic. -
3:59 - 4:04In 1949, Max Planck famously joked
about this vision from Popper. -
4:04 - 4:09Max Planck was a theoretical physicist
who eventually won a Nobel Prize. -
4:10 - 4:11He said,
-
4:11 - 4:16"A new scientific truth doesn't triumph
because it convinces its opponents; -
4:16 - 4:20rather, these opponents get old,
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4:20 - 4:21and eventually they die,
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4:21 - 4:24and they are replaced by
a new generation of scientists." -
4:25 - 4:28And what Max Planck
was alluding to with irony -
4:28 - 4:33was to the reality of debates
with humans, us. -
4:34 - 4:38Us humans, we are not designed
as perfect rational thinkers -
4:38 - 4:40only looking for the truth.
-
4:40 - 4:44The fact is that often,
we are attached to our ideas. -
4:45 - 4:47We can be attached to ideas
-
4:47 - 4:50because some ideas
may be convenient for us - -
4:50 - 4:51for interest.
-
4:52 - 4:56So going to the example
of the scientists of Max Planck, -
4:56 - 4:58these scientists may have become famous
-
4:58 - 5:01because of the ideas
that they proposed in the past, -
5:01 - 5:03and which are now old ideas.
-
5:03 - 5:07Abandoning these ideas would be
losing part of the credit they got -
5:07 - 5:10for proposing these ideas
in the first place. -
5:11 - 5:12But it's not just in science.
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5:12 - 5:14If you think of politics,
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5:14 - 5:17if a government proposes
to extend social welfare, -
5:18 - 5:20those who would receive social welfare
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5:20 - 5:22have an interest to believe
it's good for the country. -
5:23 - 5:26And those who would have to pay
for the social welfare -
5:26 - 5:29have an interest to think
it's bad for the country, -
5:29 - 5:31it's a bad policy for the country.
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5:32 - 5:35But we are not just attached to ideas
for material interests; -
5:35 - 5:36it's much more complex.
-
5:36 - 5:39Often, we can be
emotionally attached to our ideas. -
5:40 - 5:42They may be part of our identity.
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5:42 - 5:46So if I'm a Christian conservative
or a left-wing liberal, -
5:47 - 5:49these ideas may be part of who I am.
-
5:50 - 5:54Abandoning these ideas
could be losing part of my identity. -
5:56 - 5:59As a consequence,
we are attached to our ideas. -
5:59 - 6:02So we're not neutral judges
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6:03 - 6:05when we're considering
the evidence for or against them. -
6:06 - 6:11On the contrary,
science and behavior -
6:11 - 6:14show that we typically
engage in self-deception, -
6:14 - 6:18which means that we are
building beliefs which are compatible -
6:19 - 6:21with our interests
and with our other beliefs. -
6:22 - 6:25Self-deception is subtle,
-
6:25 - 6:28it takes place all the time
in your everyday life. -
6:28 - 6:30So I'm going to give you two ways
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6:30 - 6:32in which self-deception
can change what we believe in -
6:32 - 6:34and produce convenient
views for ourselves. -
6:35 - 6:37First, when you receive some news,
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6:38 - 6:41you have some flexibility
in how you consider it. -
6:42 - 6:46If it's positive news
which is compatible with your beliefs, -
6:46 - 6:49you can accept it as positive evidence.
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6:50 - 6:51And if it's negative news,
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6:51 - 6:53you can to the contrary
choose to discount it -
6:53 - 6:56and not choose to consider it.
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6:56 - 6:58Let me tell you about a study.
-
6:58 - 7:01A group of people
were asked about beliefs, -
7:01 - 7:04political beliefs
and non-political beliefs. -
7:05 - 7:07For their political beliefs,
they had to say -
7:07 - 7:11whether they believed in statements
such as "Abortion should be legal" - -
7:11 - 7:14very loaded statements,
typical of political statements. -
7:15 - 7:19And non-political beliefs
were statements such as -
7:19 - 7:22"Second-hand smoking
is dangerous to your health." -
7:24 - 7:25So what happened is
-
7:25 - 7:29that these people were confronted
with contradictions to these beliefs. -
7:29 - 7:31What do you think people did?
-
7:31 - 7:35How did they react when they were
confronted with these contradictions? -
7:35 - 7:40Well, here's how people reacted
with their non-political beliefs. -
7:41 - 7:45So you have the strength of their beliefs
before the contradiction and after it. -
7:46 - 7:48So when faced with a series
of contradictions, -
7:48 - 7:50they updated their beliefs
-
7:50 - 7:54and the strength of their beliefs
was lower after facing contradictions. -
7:54 - 7:56But now look at what happened
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7:56 - 7:59when they were faced with contradictions
to their political beliefs. -
8:00 - 8:04Here you can see that people resisted
the contradiction much more -
8:04 - 8:07and held to their political beliefs.
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8:08 - 8:12That's one way we selectively
interpret the news. -
8:12 - 8:13But there is another way.
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8:13 - 8:17We're not just receiving the news;
we're looking out for it. -
8:17 - 8:19We are selecting where we want
to look for information. -
8:20 - 8:22And typically, we look for
confirming information. -
8:23 - 8:24If you are a conservative,
-
8:24 - 8:27you are more likely
to read a conservative newspaper, -
8:27 - 8:29to watch a conservative news channel,
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8:29 - 8:32and perhaps even to turn off
the TV or the radio -
8:32 - 8:34when a left-wing politician
is being interviewed. -
8:35 - 8:39Let me show you a hypothetical scenario.
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8:40 - 8:43Let's say that you wake up in the morning
and you open your newspaper, -
8:44 - 8:45and in one scenario,
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8:45 - 8:47you've got some news which is not good -
-
8:47 - 8:49it's a contradiction to your beliefs.
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8:50 - 8:53Let's say that this news suggests
that your favorite politician -
8:53 - 8:55is involved in a political scandal.
-
8:57 - 9:00And consider the other situation,
where to the contrary, -
9:00 - 9:05the news in the newspaper is positive -
it goes with your usual beliefs. -
9:06 - 9:10Perhaps it's another politician,
a politician you do not like, -
9:10 - 9:12who is involved in the political scandal.
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9:13 - 9:15Do you think, do you feel,
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9:16 - 9:19that you'd react in the same way
to these two situations? -
9:20 - 9:22Well, research shows that you would not.
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9:22 - 9:26Most likely, what happens
is that if you find a contradiction, -
9:26 - 9:29you tend to look for all the news sources.
-
9:29 - 9:31You give yourself a chance
to find something -
9:31 - 9:33which will contradict this negative news.
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9:34 - 9:35Perhaps another newspaper,
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9:35 - 9:38perhaps you will read
the fine print in the newspaper -
9:38 - 9:42to make sure that the title
was really reflecting the information. -
9:42 - 9:45On the contrary,
if you have the positive news, -
9:45 - 9:47you're more likely to stop there,
-
9:47 - 9:50you're more likely to be happy to consider
that this piece of evidence -
9:50 - 9:53is enough for you to make up
your mind on this issue. -
9:55 - 9:59So as much as we would like to think
of ourselves as rational thinkers, -
10:00 - 10:04it is a fact that this tendency
to look for confirming news -
10:04 - 10:08and to reject negative information
is ingrained in us. -
10:10 - 10:11So now before you panic
-
10:11 - 10:16and you think that our irrationality
is making public debate impossible, -
10:17 - 10:19you can relax.
-
10:19 - 10:24These bars have existed forever,
way before social media. -
10:24 - 10:27So what's happening with social media
-
10:27 - 10:30is that they are exacerbating
some of the effects of these bars. -
10:31 - 10:34Let me give you two ways
in which they are doing so. -
10:34 - 10:37First, on the Internet
you have much more freedom -
10:37 - 10:40to look for the information
which is convenient -
10:40 - 10:42to whatever beliefs you have.
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10:43 - 10:45The Internet is like a giant supermarket.
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10:46 - 10:47For any kind of idea,
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10:47 - 10:50you'll be able to find arguments for
and supporting this idea. -
10:51 - 10:54Let's consider a crazy idea as an example.
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10:54 - 10:58Let's consider that you believe
that the Earth is flat. -
10:59 - 11:02Well, 30 years ago,
you would have been a bit alone -
11:02 - 11:05and maybe struggling to find people
to give you evidence for this. -
11:06 - 11:08Today, you can just
connect to the Internet, -
11:08 - 11:10contact the Flat Earth Society,
-
11:10 - 11:14and this society is going to provide you
with elements of evidence, -
11:14 - 11:16arguments in favor of your belief.
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11:18 - 11:19That's another way
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11:19 - 11:22in which the Internet helps you
engage in self-deception, -
11:22 - 11:24that you can do it collectively.
-
11:24 - 11:27You now have a multitude
of communities on the Internet -
11:27 - 11:30that have created
informational bubbles on their own. -
11:31 - 11:34In these bubbles,
people select information, -
11:34 - 11:37interpret information,
and repackage it -
11:37 - 11:40in a way that is compatible
with the community's views. -
11:40 - 11:43When a new fact is discussed
in this community, -
11:43 - 11:47the images which are positive
for the community are reinforced, -
11:47 - 11:50and those which are not are dropped,
-
11:50 - 11:52and the nuances are lost.
-
11:53 - 11:56These communities build simple views
-
11:56 - 11:59compatible with the beliefs
of the community. -
11:59 - 12:03So the social media have not created
a unified public space -
12:03 - 12:05where ideas are debated;
-
12:05 - 12:11instead, social media have increased
our ability to connect specifically -
12:11 - 12:14with the people whose views
mostly match our own. -
12:16 - 12:17And whatever your views,
-
12:17 - 12:20you can find a community
of like-minded people -
12:20 - 12:25with whom you can share arguments
supporting your existing beliefs -
12:25 - 12:26and not challenging them.
-
12:28 - 12:29But what do you want?
-
12:30 - 12:36Do you want a unified public space
where ideas are debated, discussed, -
12:36 - 12:38and where maybe the best ideas can win,
-
12:38 - 12:40or a compartmented public space
-
12:40 - 12:44where different visions of the world
can coexist unchallenged? -
12:45 - 12:50Well, if we want to defend and support
-
12:50 - 12:52the existence of an open public space,
-
12:52 - 12:56we need to realize
that the problem starts with us, -
12:57 - 12:59with how we form opinions
-
12:59 - 13:01and how we share them on the social media.
-
13:02 - 13:06So perhaps, in the post-truth era
we need some guidelines -
13:06 - 13:09about how to interact on the social media.
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13:10 - 13:11Here are three steps.
-
13:12 - 13:14Step 1:
-
13:14 - 13:19Avoid the narrow selection of information
which closely match your views. -
13:20 - 13:22Make sure that in your timeline
-
13:22 - 13:24you've got some news sources
which challenge your view. -
13:25 - 13:29Try to find people with whom you disagree
-
13:29 - 13:31and exchange with them.
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13:31 - 13:33Listen to what they have to say.
-
13:34 - 13:37Try to appreciate the points
that they may have. -
13:38 - 13:40Give them a chance to change your mind.
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13:42 - 13:43Point 2:
-
13:44 - 13:45Question your views.
-
13:46 - 13:49The more you'd like an idea to be true,
-
13:49 - 13:53the more you need to distrust the way
you made up your mind about it. -
13:53 - 13:56Are you sure that you considered
-
13:56 - 13:59all the best counterarguments
to the views you have? -
13:59 - 14:02that you've considered the possibility
of weak points in your reasoning? -
14:02 - 14:04Try to find them.
-
14:05 - 14:07Whenever you really want
an idea to be true, -
14:07 - 14:09you may remember
that at some point in your life, -
14:09 - 14:12we all liked to believe in Santa.
-
14:14 - 14:17And even though we really wanted
Santa to be true, -
14:18 - 14:20it didn't make it more real in the end.
-
14:20 - 14:22So the more you'd like an idea to be true,
-
14:22 - 14:26you need to be wondering,
Is it too good to be true? -
14:26 - 14:29Do I believe this
because I want to believe it -
14:29 - 14:31or because of the evidence?
-
14:31 - 14:33Could it be another Santa for me?
-
14:35 - 14:36Step 3:
-
14:36 - 14:39Avoid contributing
to the distortion of facts. -
14:39 - 14:42When you want to forward
information on social media, -
14:42 - 14:44make sure you've read it,
you understand it, -
14:44 - 14:46and avoid simplifying it in a way
-
14:46 - 14:49which is going to conform
with the views of the community. -
14:49 - 14:52Try not to contribute
to an echo chamber effect -
14:52 - 14:55within the community of views
you are participating in. -
14:56 - 15:00If you follow these guidelines,
you are going to do yourself a favor: -
15:01 - 15:05you're going to stop building
a convenient alternative reality; -
15:05 - 15:09you're going to avoid spreading
half truths and distorted facts; -
15:10 - 15:15and you will limit the self-enforcing
groups of confirming exchanges, -
15:16 - 15:19which are pushing people
in different informational bubbles. -
15:20 - 15:23You will help ideas
to be questioned and challenged, -
15:23 - 15:27and you will contribute to making
the public space an open space -
15:27 - 15:28where the best ideas can win.
-
15:29 - 15:32Will you allow yourself
to change your views -
15:33 - 15:35and to abandon old ones?
-
15:36 - 15:38Smart people change their mind.
-
15:38 - 15:40Choose to be one.
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15:41 - 15:43(Applause)
- Title:
- To stop fake news, challenge your own views first | Lionel Page | TEDxQUT
- Description:
-
The information era seems to have given way to the post-truth era, where the lines between facts and fiction have been blurred by fake news. How can fake news be so effective? Lionel Page, Professor in Behavioural Economics, argues that fake news works because we are willing to believe it. To stop fake news and improve public debate, we have to change how we engage with the news and spread it on social media.
Lionel is the Head of the Queensland Behavioural Economics group. He received the 2016 Young Economist Prize from the Economic Society of Australia. His research focuses on the study of economic and political behavior. He is a dual French and Australian citizen having worked in economics in Paris, London, and Brisbane.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 15:57
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