Pontsho Pilane
@pontsho_pilane
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she/her | I should be writing | @imidibaniso_sc PhD Fellow | Author of Power and Faith: How evangelical churches are quietly shaping our democracy
Joined November 2009
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Discussing the US Evangelical Right on US soil. At the centre of the only progressive evangelical president the country has had. Who was ousted by a president who started the weaponisation & politicisation of evangelicalism for the antirights agenda. Surreal and serendipitous.
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In 2018 I went undercover at a pregnancy crisis centre in Hatfield. I pretended to be pregnant & seeking termination services. Instead, I was confronted with pseudo-scientific information to convince me to keep the pregnancy. These centres exist to spread misinformation with the
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I’ve noticed an increase in anti-abortion protests in SA. They are very big, but definitely another sign of US anti-abortion tactics in SA.
Anti-abortion activists hold a picket outside the Marie Stopes offices in Kensington B, Randburg.
They told EWN they are Catholics from across the country who are against abortion as it is a sin. TCG
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Marie Stopes doesn’t just offer abortion. It’s a holistic sexual reproductive health service provider.
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intention of convincing people to keep their pregnancies. They are subtle in this approach but will call your pregnancy a baby and even shoe you inaccurate fetal models like this one. All with an intention of scaring & guilting you into carrying full-term.
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Their abortion information booklets are littered with false information like people who terminate will get “Post-Abortion Syndrome”, a non-existent condition that supposedly results in mental illness. It’s been debunked by a lot of scientific research.
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I have been waiting for this book from the moment I heard about it. I can’t wait to dig in! Well done
@Segalwe
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In 2018, there were 44 of the forced birth extremist organisations in South Africa. I learned today that there are now 54 across the country. They hide in plain sight by offering other much needed services such as HIV testing & adoption assistance.
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Listening to a podcast about being a South African (Christian) husband and this man just said there is a certain level of Godly favour that comes with marriage. No sir, it’s patriarchy and the unequal domestic labour on women.
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I’m heartbroken and furious that they have gained even more traction in SA. Our wombs are not safe. We are not safe.
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They look like caring NGOs serving communities but they are insidiously anti-abortion and use tactics learnt in the US to hide in plain sight. They also receive anti-abortion training, which they call “life affirming” from US orgs involved in the anti-abortion movement there.
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Their largest referral pathway is through healthcare workers. In my investigation, pregnant university students were referred there by campus nurses. Their website and social media pages look innocent but that’s how they get to do the manipulative work they exist for.
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Marie Stopes is now offering services on credit. 📉📉📉
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I’ll be chatting all things Power and Faith with
@ThabisoTema
at 08:10 on
@Powerfm987
. Do tune in!
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Christine Mboma
Maximila Imali
Annet Negesa
More women whose hopes & dreams have been crushed by colonial exceptionalism of womanhood. Black Women’s bodies prodded, poked and asked to prove their womanhood because they surely cannot be that excellent according to the IOC.
Imane Khelif
Dutee Chand
Caster Semenya
Annet Negesa
Anyone noticing a common thread amongst the female athletes who have been falsely subjected to Transphobic attacks and allegations?
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That’s my book! 🥹😀
🚩NEW IN FEBRUARY🚩
📖 Power and Faith by Pontsho Pilane excavates the question of the church's role in a progressive society.
COMING SOON
#Tafelberg
#nonfiction
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Amapiano has replaced Mandela in the global ice breaker conversation. I’m shocked!
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Roe V Wade is our business. Every challenge to our Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act has supporters from the US, US anti-abortion organisations are funding local NGOs and their anti-abortion training, conversion therapy camps and lastly, the impact of the Global Gag Rule.
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For some reason, my mother still has my matric dance dress. I copied a dress Khanyi Mbau wore to the J&B Met that I saw in DRUM. 😅
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In 2018 I went undercover at a pregnancy crisis centre & received directive counselling, which is against our CToP Act. The centre is part of a network of NGOs that receive funding & training from US right-wing anti-abortion orgs.
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Grateful to be one of 40
@ASDAH
scholarship recipients! This is personally & professionally life changing. For my PhD I’m exploring discriminatory messages about obesity in public health comms, esp targeted at Black women & critiquing normative ideologies underlying the science.
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After the blacklash towards the SABC (esp Metro) for platforming this woman, News24
continued to publish this. This article is so disgusting on so many levels. It’s only positive is we can confirm that this is indeed an SA tour supported by the SA Jewish Board of
Deputies.
News24 | Six hours of terror: Israeli recounts surviving Hamas attack in bid to address antisemitism
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Hit me up if you’re at the
#HumanRightFestival
and would like to buy a copy of Power and Faith!
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In this week’s Sunday Times: “Books to look forward to this year”. My first solo book which will be launching soon! 😃😃😃
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Make a cup of tea or coffee. Find a quiet corner. Settle in. And read. 😳
The ANC, the megachurch and the mystery of the R200-million money flows.
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New Motswana aunty level unlocked. Bringing matlhabego to work for others!
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There are many opinions about the NHI Bill.
@NeliMsomi
,
@LuntuNdzandze
& I went across the country covering the hearings & there was resounding support for the bill. The people who use the public health system the most want universal healthcare. Those opinions matter the most.
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Quarter life crises. Not meeting the expectations of who they thought they’d be at this age (career, finances, romantic life, etc). In search of a more structured community. Wanting marriage. The perception of losing social currency in a patriarchal world. Fear. Kuningi!
My peers are becoming very Jesus-y these days. What happens when people turn 30 that get them like this?😭😭😭😭
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The Power and Faith book Joburg launch was incredible! The engagements were insightful and it was a pleasure to meet & talk to everyone. Thank you again,
@LebohangWrites
for being my discussant, couldn’t have chosen a better person. What a night! 🥳🥰
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I always think of
@NeliMsomi
every time Life Esidemini is in the news. Her comprehensive coverage on the hearings and subsequent features she wrote were stellar. What a time to have been in a newsroom!
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I’ve been observing the resurgence of jaw wiring for weight loss in SA, or “slimming wires” as the anti-fat industry calls it. This is systemic violence on fat people (especially femmes) who are pushed to do anything, even literally locking the jaws shut to lose weight.
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It’s World Ob***y Day. Here’s a snippet of my PhD research that delves into why this is an epistemological injustice towards fat people, black fat femmes in particular.
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“Wow, this hard body is delicious!” - my father while having duck for supper yesterday 😅
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So delighted to have
@RK_ct
talk to the
@StelliesJourn
students about conservation and the way it’s covered in the media. This is part of the science journalism sub-module I’ve been teaching.
#FynbosAgenda
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Got to spend some time with
@WandileSihlobo
and
@LebogangSeale
after their insightful panel on land. And of course, signing each others’ books!
#kbf24
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I am looking to speak to transracial adoptees who were adopted from South Africa and live/lived in the US, ie, Black babies who were adopted & raised in the US by white US citizens & are willing to speak on and off the record with me. DMs are open, TIA!
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Fearing The Black Body is the reason I’m doing my PhD. I’m really interested in tracing back the colonial origins of fat phobia in Africa and the pathologisation of black women’s bodies, to the point where we’ve become the central figure in “obesity prevention”.
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I love that anti-abortion people are called forced birth extremists. It’s exactly who they are.
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I was 20 years old with a savings account dedicated to taking a church trip to Israel. It wasn’t until I found the Palestine Solidarity movement on campus where I learned the truth that I couldn’t lie to myself about how unethical it would to take that trip.
Black Christians not knowing the difference between Biblical Israel and settler-colonial state Israel, is why all these pseudo-Devout Christians are making statements standing with Israel but I think that’s also due to anti-intellectualism and our lost connection from the Black
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Unpacking my own experience as a church youth leader and how it inspired my interrogation of how evangelical churches are quietly shaping our democracy
@ExclusiveBooks
#PowerAndFaithBookLaunch
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The Cape Town leg of
#PowerandFaith
was so incredible. My gratitude to
@athambile
for being an amazing discussant and the very receptive audience at the
@book_lounge
! And, of course, the Toni Morrison of our time
@khanyisile
who made this book possible!
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Anyone who regularly travels this route knows that it’s beeeen unsafe. So many people get hijacked and we even know not to drive after certain hours. I just wish the story included the local context on how it’s not an anomaly instead of just focusing on tourists.
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"To live in a body both fat and Black is to exist at the margins of a society that creates the conditions for anti-fatness as anti-Blackness" - Da'Shaun L. Harrison, author of Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness
#asdahconference2022
Sjoe!
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Power and Faith unlocked my inner child and core memory. It wasn’t easy, but I’m forever grateful to have excavated so much. This baby of mine freed me from the shackles of my trauma and shame, brought me happiness and peace.
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@Queen_Finxa
The awkwardness that it brings is gratifying, but it may soon fade because some will to pray for you or invite you to meet their spiritual father who can pray the infertility away 😔🫠
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@TiChitsinde
Absolutely. They are on a roll, and it’s looking dicey especially with the latent anti-abortion sentiment in society.
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Just this morning I was reflecting on the beauty of friendships that are not centred around picket fence fantasy. People become so much more interesting. Women are so much more than this & I’ve seen it in how my closest and treasured friendships are successful blossomed.
I told a “friend” that I don’t want to speak about marriage & children every single time we hangout. She spiraled and I haven’t heard from her since. That was 12/28/23. Lmaoooo.
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An inception of dreams! Getting to sign your book for me, while I sign mine for you was very special. ❤️
Our ancestors' wildest dreams.
Was special dumping into
@pontsho_pilane
at
@exclusivebooks
yesterday. Doing what we could only have dreamed of.
Congratulations on your book, Pontsho. I know there are many more in your future.
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The "transgender ideology" train has arrived in South Africa thanks to the anti-rights and anti-gender religious & cultural organisations. The term is often used in a derogatory or dismissive manner to undermine the identities and experiences of transgender individuals.
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Please save the date & RSVP to the book launch for 'Power and Faith: How evangelical churches are quietly shaping our democracy' at
@ExclusiveBooks
Rosebank Mall, 6 March. I'll be in conversation with the incredible,
@LebohangWrites
!
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Naledi ele ya mariberibe
Ribela ko tlasi
Ro nwa metsi.
Metsi ga a yo
A nolwe ke kgaupe.
Kgaupe ga ke morate
Ke rata masilonyana.
My father sang this poem/song to all my siblings and I when we were kids. He sang, and still sings it, to all his grandchildren.
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@_Onezwa
“I am encountering significant challenges with this project that are impacting my ability to progress as expected. I’m finding the situation quite stressful, and I believe it would be beneficial to discuss potential strategies for managing these challenges.”
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"When we are critical of science we are helping advance certain forms of science" - Prof Sabrina Strings, author of the seminal book Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia
#asdahconference2022
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I have 5G in my parent’s house. This has NEVER happened in my whole life. I am sending this tweet without having to stand at the gate.
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@mpiyakhe8
They’ve been here. I write about the connections the US evangelical right has with SA in my latest book
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About to do an intimate reading in a literal tent! I’ve chosen some excerpts I found difficult to write & are the most vulnerable aspects of the book.
#OBF2024
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Most of the critical scholarship and research on anti-fat bias is done in the Global North. Looking forward to learning from the incredible minds in this field, and being inspired to do this research in ways that resonate to the unique South African experience and context.
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Seeing a government spokesperson post about a government project as a political win, with their political principal in regalia during working hours. I need 29 May to come and go because what we’re seeing is just too much.
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@janine_j
Same here! The cost is significantly lower and it was light on my pocket when I first started working and was off my parents’ medical aid
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Remembering the first time I was in Stellenbosch. I was physically ill from just being here. Couldn’t leave my room, couldn’t eat. It was the words of a black woman telling me that we can’t let them have enclaves that settled me.The feeling doesn’t go away but I’m so much better.
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I am 40 minutes into the first episode of the Hillsong documentary and the number of times I have had déja vu over my own experiences is frightening.
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I have always been very certain of myself. As a girl, I got into trouble because teachers, adults in general, older children and even my peers didn't quite understand it. It got me in a lot of trouble. It still does.
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This is the day the Lorde has made! Launch day is here 😀😀😀. Looking forward to tonight and hope to see some of you there!
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I love this. bell hooks on theory as liberatory practice is daily mantra, especially when I anxious and doubt myself.
@pontsho_pilane
And your theorization will also contest the dominant scripts about bodies that traumatize people in the first place, and so be liberatory for others too. Can't wait to engage with your scholarship!
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Totally stoked for
@OpenBookFest
in September! Get your tickets to any of these sessions here: .
#OBF2024
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“You’re taller than expected” - everyone who meets me irl. 😂
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Conscientious objection to abortion has gotten so bad in SA that abortion providers are reporting that in some provinces health facility managers are applying blanket conscientious objection to facilities, meaning no termination of pregnancy services are offered at said facility.
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Join us!
📍🗓️ Join us at EB
@RosebankMall
for a book launch for Power and Faith by Pontsho Pilane.
@NBPublishers
@pontsho_pilane
RSVP to events
@exclusivebooks
.co.za
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Lawrence Khethani in Thohoyandou, lives with a mental illness & depends on a disability grant to support his kids. He said that if the NHI is properly implemented it can improve the lives of rural people who are often subjected to poor health services.
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This was a really lovely surprise! Thank you, Siya 😀
So excited to see
@pontsho_pilane
edited extract from your book on an entire page of the Sunday Times Pontsho. Well done! Of course i will buy the book!!! 👊🏽👏🏽👏🏽
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Bummed to be missing the launch but please go on my behalf! Almost done with the book and it’s so compelling and well written.
I have been waiting for this book from the moment I heard about it. I can’t wait to dig in! Well done
@Segalwe
.
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The PhD journey is so lonely. Everyone told me this, but the reality is worse than I imagined!
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The evangelical colonial project is alive and thriving. The global Christian nationalism we are yet to see is frightening.
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“Women still perform the majority of household chores, child care and elder care, the social maintenance that academics call kin keeping, i.e. remembering their mother-in-law's birthdays, scheduling and the management of conflicts, resources and outside help…
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My year long search for the below is still on. I know it’s a long shot but I’ve exhausted all other sleuthing so I’ll try my luck again. DMs aren’t “open” as before but please reply if you have any leads.
I am looking to speak to transracial adoptees who were adopted from South Africa and live/lived in the US, ie, Black babies who were adopted & raised in the US by white US citizens & are willing to speak on and off the record with me. DMs are open, TIA!
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EXCERPT | Pontsho Pilane's Power and Faith: News24's Book of the Month unpacks religion and politics.
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‘A family can be a very stifling environment’
I really enjoyed chatting to
@LeboMojapelo
about Power and Faith for
@joburgreview
. I love how every interviewer brings out a different perspective to what I believe is a multi-faceted book. Check it out!
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All my current projects come to one conclusion: Christianity and Capitalism are so intertwined, and this is why the world sucks.
😞
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@WheelsnToys
Absolutely. Made a TikTok about it. We have sexual reproduction health enshrined in our constitution but need credit to access it. Horrendous!
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The DA’s right side is coming out. It will be interesting to see their policy positions on gender and reproductive rights since they’re seemingly quiet about that.
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I think we’re socialised into the right to some extent, converting to the left takes not only exposure to left politics/principles but willingness to confront our biases. The annoyance with the left is often our internalised right thinking winning. Confirmation bias if you will.
I don't understand when people veer to the right just because they find left wing people very annoying. I find left wing people very annoying and I'm still left wing
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The price of luggage sets need to be investigated. It’s ridiculous.
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I’m so excited to bring Power and Faith to the US! The significance of the venue, the issues covered in the book and their connection to the US at this very time will make this a memorable discussion. Tell your friends in and around Atlanta to join us!
Hey ATL 🍑 we’re back with something fresh - the BLKHLTH Book Club!
July 30 | 6 - 9 PM |
@CarterCenter
RSVP here:
Join us in conversation with award-winning South African 🇿🇦 journalist
@pontsho_pilane
to discuss her new book, Power and Faith: How
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“The way the bill is presented is not satisfactory. We not sure if it’s going to work or not, but we have questions about whether it’s going to be another chance for corruption,”
@TAC
Limpopo Chairperson Helen Nkuna said in 2019.
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Can’t wait for
@OpenBookFest
in September! 😀
#OBF24
🎉 Open Book Festival 2024: Participant Reveal (2/2) 🎉
More brilliant minds joining us!
🔗 Full participant list here:
#OBF2024
#OpenBookFestival
#LiteraryFestival
#ConversationsThatMatter
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This is based on their own religious beliefs that they impose on everyone. Stories of women travelling as far as 100km to access services because their nearest health facilities don’t offer any services. These people must be stopped.
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