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2024 Dishonest Reporter of the Year Awards

The New York Times building in New York City. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Following the horrific events of October 7, 2023, news and analysis related to Israel’s war against Hamas dominated the headlines around the world for months on end. But instead of rising to the challenge of covering the fast-moving, multi-front battle accurately and impartially, media outlets did their viewers and readers a great disservice by producing a plethora of skewed coverage.

And with the alarming spike in antisemitism, fueled by the warp-speed dissemination of baseless accusations against Israel and its motives for fighting Hamas, the negative impact of dishonest reporters in 2024 was felt more acutely than at any other time in recent memory.

Some of this year’s nominees for the Dishonest Reporter of the Year Award are old favorites — outlets that incessantly delegitimize Israel by distorting the truth, not providing relevant context, using loaded language, publishing misleading headlines, as well as other sleights of hand that are part of the biased journalist’s bag of tricks.

And then there are the influencers with massive online followings who contributed to the wave of anti-Israel bias that swept through the media in 2024. By perpetrating a distinct narrative, that of unbridled Israeli aggression in contrast to perpetual Palestinian victimhood, these online activists have had an impact on the public discourse over the last year.

Our hope is that by tracking and spotlighting the most egregious examples of journalistic malfeasance and presenting our findings, the serial offenders will be held to account for their spreading of malicious untruths about Israel.

Before we reveal the winner of the 2024 Dishonest Reporter Award, here are all the nominees, those publications and individuals who excelled in getting it totally wrong about Israel…

(nominees presented in no particular order)

Most Useful Idiot: Adam Schrader, UPI

UPI’s Adam Schrader in 2024 repeatedly used terror groups and state-run Palestinian agencies as the primary sources in his articles. Among Schrader’s many offenses, the one that stood out this year was when he produced a biography of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar that depicted the arch-terrorist in heroic terms.

According to UPI, Sinwar — a mass murderer and the mastermind behind the October 7 massacre in southern Israel — is a “Palestinian militia” leader who had been arrested in Israel “for supporting a free Palestine.”

While he may have supported a Palestine free of Jews, Sinwar was most definitely not a militia leader. Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organization that has ruled all aspects of life in Gaza for almost two decades.

In the same abysmal story, Schrader referred to the October 7 attack, “which many have characterized as a terror attack” and “Jewish settlers during the 1948 war.”

He even had the gall to accuse Israelis of raping Palestinians in 1948 while singularly ignoring the very real Hamas rape cases that had literally just occurred on October 7.

Biggest Car Crash Interview: Michael Moore (on CNN)

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore’s April 2024 interview on CNN was difficult to watch. Among many, many gaffes, Moore suggests that anti-Israel campus demonstrations are a hallmark of healthy “democracy and free speech,” and complains that protesters have been beaten and clubbed by police in response, even though no protesters are “committing any acts of violence.”

 Another stand-out moment is when he states that 98% of protesters are not antisemitic — something he suggests is impossible “because the Palestinian people are Semites.”

The fact that the there was virtually no pushback from CNN anchor Kaitlin Collins allowed Moore to reimagine facts and rewrite history.

This is can’t-miss viewing in the worst conceivable way.

Most Malicious Mouthpiece for the Iranian Regime: Seyed Mohammad Marandi, (Interviews on BBC, Sky News, and Channel 4 News)

In the aftermath of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s drone and missile attack on Israel in April 2024, several British media outlets provided a platform for Seyed Mohammad Marandi. While he was presented innocuously enough as a University of Tehran professor, he is nonetheless an educator in a closed society, where the Iranian regime maintains control over every facet of life, including education. Moreover, Seyed Mohammad Marandi has been exposed as a former IRGC soldier. Despite this revelation, UK media continue to turn to the good professor for sage analysis.

None of the various UK-based news channels alerted their audience that Marandi is effectively a representative of the Iranian government. And so, viewers were fed a feast of lies by the ever-smirking professor who accused Israel in various interviews of genocide, and the Israeli government of being a Nazi regime – an overt act of antisemitism. The fall of the Iran-led axis of resistance will be that much sweeter if it manages to knock that irritating grin off Marandi’s face.

New Master Race: Owen Jones, The Guardian

Having published a lengthy screed exposing the BBC for being pro-Israel, Guardian columnist Owen Jones liked a couple of blatantly antisemitic comments posted by his supporters. After being called out, Jones sort of backtracked, posting that “the lesson here is don’t scan through comments reading the first line and pressing ‘like,’ which is what I did.”

A heartfelt apology this most assuredly was not.

Then again, Jones is no stranger to the Dishonest Reporter of the Year Award. This is, after all, the same man who, after watching 47 minutes of footage from the October 7 Hamas massacre, concluded that Israel still hadn’t provided enough proof of horrors like the gang-rape of women and the deliberate killing of children.

In Memoriam: Mehdi Hasan, On Leaving Legacy Media (Hopefully for Good)

In late 2023, MSNBC announced the cancelation of long-time detractor of Israel Mehdi Hasan’s regular show. Hasan eventually chose to quit the network and launch his own independent media company, Zeteo, in early 2024.

In theory, Hasan now has even more freedom to pursue his obsessive attacks on Israel through his own outlet and on social media.

How did he fare without MSNBC as a platform? Based on his performance in the Munk Debate on anti-Zionism, where he spoke against the motion that anti-Zionism is antisemitism, Hasan’s flame-throwing days may be behind him. Between the beginning of the debate and the end, support for Mehdi’s position dropped by 5%.

Most Dysfunctional News Network: CBS

In July, HonestReporting revealed that a CBS News journalist in Gaza praised terrorists at an official event of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and had contacts with terrorists as a member of the Gaza City municipal council.

Marwan al-Ghoul has been working as a CBS News producer in Gaza for more than two decades, and his affiliation with a proscribed terror group, as well as his official public role in the Hamas-ruled Strip, raises alarming questions regarding the network’s journalistic standards.

Unsurprisingly, Al-Ghoul’s reports from Gaza are typical — they include destruction and victims, not Hamas terrorists.

Marwan Al Ghoul Dishonest Reporter 2024

Despite having no problem with al-Ghoul’s continuing employment, CBS did take issue when its anchor Tony Dokoupil pressed author Ta-Nehisi Coates on the most contentious parts of his new essay collection, The Message, which tackles the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Instead of engaging in an open debate, CBS succumbed to internal backlash and forced Dokoupil to apologize. The resulting fallout led to Paramount Global’s CEO, Shari Redstone reportedly admitting that CBS’s decision to reprimand Dokoupil was a “mistake.”

Al-Ghoul gets a free pass but Dokoupil gets hauled over the coals? Something just isn’t right at CBS News.

Biggest New Influencer Antisemite: Dan Bilzerian

Like many other influencers, Dan Bilzerian’s sudden interest in Israel ignited after the October 7 Hamas massacre that sparked the current war in Gaza. His public embrace of anti-Jewish bigotry is part of a wider online trend that includes such luminaries as Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens, and Jackson Hinkle.

In 2024, Bilzerian posted dozens of disturbing comments about the Jewish state, including conspiratorial claims that Israel murdered U.S. soldiers, that Israel’s Mossad controls the U.S. government, and that Israel orchestrated October 7 as a pretext to seize land in Gaza.

Another antisemitic social media trend that Bilzerian has latched onto involves using either fake or manipulated quotations from the Talmud to supposedly “prove” that Jews are evil, thereby “contextualizing” the war in Gaza.

Bilzerian’s post-October 7 boost in popularity underscores how antisemitism is flourishing online, resulting in real-world consequences.

Dan Bilzerian

Most Creative Use of Hezbollah to Correct a Story: Washington Post

The Washington Post in September managed to “correct”’ an error of its own making with … Hezbollah propaganda.

Comments in Post connected with an interview conducted with Alma, an independent research and education center focused on Israel’s security challenges along its northern border, implied that the Galilee region in northern Israel is “disputed” territory. After confirming with Alma that its representative never made any such statement during her interview with the Washington Post, the publication issued a correction…of sorts.

Instead of doing the right thing and simply removing the word “disputed” from the article, journalist Loveday Morris appeared to double down, attempting to justify or explain why the status of the Galilee region could be considered disputed.

Yet even after HonestReporting called out The Washington Post for Morris’s shoddy journalism and subsequent ‘correction,’ the media outlet continued to platform Hezbollah’s false claims.

Biggest Disappointment: The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal, long seen as a reliable voice on Israel, is now pushing a dangerous narrative by drawing disturbing moral equivalencies between Hamas terrorists and Israelis defending their lives.

Case in point: One of their reporters, Abeer Ayyoub, was caught spreading terrorist propaganda on social media. On October 7, Ayyoub posted a violent Hamas propaganda video. It showed terrorists lynching and executing Israeli soldiers near the Gaza border.

Ayyoub’s anti-Israeli sentiment is often hidden behind the facade of the Arabic language, making it easier to conceal from her bosses and colleagues in Western media.

But this is no excuse.

However, despite Ayyoub’s rampant hate-mongering, The Wall Street Journal apparently believes that she can report on Israel and Gaza objectively, without letting her views contaminate her coverage.

Aber Ayyoub

Perpetuation of 2,000-Year-Old Blood Libel Prize: Sky News

Sky News reached a journalistic low in July with a report by special correspondent Alex Crawford, detailing the aftermath of the Hezbollah rocket attack on the Golan Heights that killed 12 children playing soccer in the Druze town of Majdal Shams.

Crawford prominently highlighted Hezbollah’s vehement denials of involvement in the attack, yet omitted the fact that the group had earlier that day boasted about launching at least 100 rockets at Israel.

But the most disturbing part of the piece wasn’t Crawford’s almost sympathetic portrayal of the terror group as unflinching in the face of “threats and accusations from their Israeli neighbors.” Below, is a direct quote from the piece:

The war has entered a very dangerous stage and the Lebanese authorities who’re in direct contact with their Hezbollah partners are urging restraint whilst encouraging the Americans to leverage pressure on the Israelis to reign [sic] in their lust for revenge. 

The People’s Choice: BBC News

Last year’s Dishonest Reporter Award winner has had a stellar year for anti-Israel bias and that was reflected in a vote held on X (formerly Twitter) that demonstrated just how poorly BBC News is thought of around the globe. Despite coming up against The New York Times in the final round of voting, the BBC delivered a knockout blow to take the people’s choice for the worst coverage of Israel this year.

A damning report exposed the full extent of the BBC’s anti-Israel bias during the Israel-Hamas war. The analysis, spanning four months of the broadcaster’s coverage starting on October 7, uncovered a staggering 1,500 breaches of the BBC’s editorial guidelines and highlighted systemic failures to maintain its commitment to impartiality and accuracy during a conflict that has fueled a troubling rise of antisemitic bigotry worldwide.

The Asserson Report reveals not just isolated errors, but a consistent pattern of bias that undermines the BBC’s journalistic integrity. But how can the BBC begin to address its failings when it refuses to acknowledge that there is a problem?

The BBC has recently come under fire from The Guardian’s Owen Jones and Al Jazeera for being “pro-Israel.”

We’ll respectfully disagree.

2024 Dishonest Reporter of the Year: The New York Times

In a disturbingly crowded field, The New York Times stood out in 2024. One of America’s leading publications, the Gray Lady repeatedly played fast and loose with news about the Israel-Hamas conflict. While there were notable instances where the newspaper of record for the United States distinguished itself with compelling fact-driven articles and investigations, even earning a Pulitzer Prize for its Israel-Hamas war coverage, such examples of journalistic excellence, unfortunately, proved to be the exception.

Instead, people around the world looking for clear and sober reporting and reasoned analysis about Israel were generally treated to a steady diet of advocacy journalism that put a premium on pushing a certain narrative.

Below, are but a few of the ways the NYT’s readership was thoroughly misled:

Doctors Plot

In October, The New York Times opinion essay “65 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza” blew up, as weapons and forensic ballistic experts debunked and questioned X-ray images featured in the piece claiming to be 5.56 caliber bullets inside the skulls of Gazan children.

Despite The New York Times’ vigorous defense of the essay, the mounting evidence that discredited both the accounts and the purported evidence within the piece raises serious questions about how thoroughly The Times vetted the doctors involved.

Another doozy also occurred in October, when The New York Times published an investigation alleging that IDF soldiers were using Gazans as human shields during operations in the Gaza Strip. NYT’s investigation relied heavily on highly problematic sources, including the organization Breaking the Silence.

In doing so, The New York Times turned on its head the substantiated fact that Hamas deliberately embeds itself within civilian infrastructure as a means of protecting its terrorists and their weaponry from Israel. Not only are the accusations against the IDF baseless, but they are also a distraction from the very real human rights violations Hamas perpetrates when it uses Gazans as human shields.

Apartheid Roads

The New York Times failed mightily when it published an interactive feature titled “Roadblocked.”

The piece implied strongly that Israel’s road network exists solely to “restrict Palestinian movement.” The truth is that these barriers and security measures were put in place to protect Israelis from terrorism. And, crucially, they likely would not exist if there were a Palestinian leadership committed to peace with Israel.

Apartheid Roads New York Times

No Campus Antisemitism Here

The Times posted a piece in July that failed to portray the full and accurate picture of events surrounding the outburst of antisemitism on U.S. college campuses. In an entire discussion of the campus protest arrests, the article does not make a single mention of the extreme nature of these demonstrations.

Effectively, the NYT uncritically ran with the narrative that student protesters were simply exercising their right to free speech. Such fact-free reporting trivializes the incitement perpetrated by those present and enforces the idea that they do not deserve any consequences for their violent behavior.

Lancet Libel

The Lancet medical journal published a piece in July that claimed it wasn’t “implausible” that the overall number of deaths in Gaza could be higher than 186,000 — a figure the authors concocted by comparing Gaza to other conflicts with no substantial basis.

To her credit, New York Times Opinion Editor Meher Ahmad was one of the few journalists to correctly describe the piece as a “letter,” not a peer-reviewed study or anything remotely rigorous. However, she still attempted to contextualize the authors’ “staggering” number, describing the contents of the missive as “more a call for open documentation of casualties than anything else.”

Legitimized By Pulitzer Prize

The awarding of the Pulitzer Prize to the Times for “its wide-ranging and revelatory coverage of Hamas’ lethal attack in southern Israel on October 7, Israel’s intelligence failures, and the Israeli military’s sweeping, deadly response in Gaza” gave the ultimate seal of approval for all of the paper’s Israel-Hamas war coverage — including all of those times that the Gray Lady has not lived up to appropriate standards.

To fulfill its mission to cover “All the News That’s Fit to Print,” one can forgive The New York Times for the occasional case of sloppy journalism, inevitable in a 24/7 news cycle. However, the publication’s biased reporting on the Israel-Hamas war was part of a pattern. On a topic as complex and impactful as the Israel-Hamas war, the paper has a major responsibility to get the facts right. Instead, the publication sacrificed its journalistic standards on the altar of a narrative that aligns neatly with that of Israel’s most vociferous detractors.

“Congratulations” to a worthy winner of this year’s Dishonest Reporter Award.

Gidon Ben-Zvi, former Jerusalem Correspondent for The Algemeiner newspaper, is an accomplished writer who left Hollywood for Jerusalem in 2009. He and his wife are raising their four children to speak fluent English – with an Israeli accent. Ben-Zvi’s work has appeared in The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, The Algemeiner, American Thinker, The Jewish Journal, Israel Hayom, and United with Israel. Ben-Zvi blogs at Jerusalem State of Mind (jsmstateofmind.com). The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.

The post 2024 Dishonest Reporter of the Year Awards first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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UN Data: Nearly 90 Percent of Gaza Aid ‘Intercepted’ Before Reaching Intended Recipients

Palestinians collect aid supplies from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

The vast majority of humanitarian aid entering Gaza is intercepted before reaching its intended civilian recipients, newly released data from the United Nations shows, fueling growing concerns among Israeli officials and international observers about systemic aid diversion by armed groups in the enclave.

According to figures tracking humanitarian assistance for Gaza from May 19 to Aug. 1 of this year, out of the 2,010 UN trucks (carrying 27,434 tons of aid) collected from any of the crossings along Gaza’s perimeter, only 260 trucks (4,111 tons) reached their intended destination. That equates to a staggering 87 percent of all trucks and 85 percent of all tonnage of aid being stolen and not getting into the hands of civilians at the intended destination.

The UN’s own data, posted on the website of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) as part of the “UN2720 Monitoring & Tracking Dashboard,” reveals that almost all the aid — 1,753 trucks (23,353 tons) — has been “intercepted, either peacefully by hungry people or forcefully by armed actors” while being transported inside Gaza over the past few months.

No breakdown is provided of how much aid has been seized by armed groups versus civilians.

The data also shows that much of the UN aid offloaded at any of the crossings along Gaza’s perimeter has not been collected to enter the war-torn enclave during this period. Out of 40,012 tons of aid (2,134 trucks) being delivered to the crossings, just 27,434 tons (2010 trucks) have been picked up. It’s unclear what exactly led to this discrepancy, with issues such as poor internal coordination and security concerns potentially delaying aid shipments.

The UN2720 mechanism, created earlier this year, was intended to boost transparency by verifying and tracking aid shipments via QR codes at key checkpoints. The system monitors each pallet from offloading to delivery and flags any discrepancies in a centralized database.

Israel has facilitated the entry of thousands of aid trucks into Gaza, with Israeli officials condemning the UN and other international aid agencies for their alleged failure to distribute supplies, noting much of the humanitarian assistance has been stalled at border crossings or stolen by the ruling Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

On Sunday, Israel announced a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors as Arab and European countries began airdropping supplies into the enclave.

However, the UN and several Western governments have increased pressure on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, blaming the Jewish state for what they described as a hunger crisis and insufficient amounts of aid reaching civilians.

Israeli officials have said that claims of mass starvation in Gaza are false and being amplified by not only Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, but also international humanitarian organizations and media organizations to manipulate global opinion.

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Dutch Nurse Under Police Investigation for Alleged Threats Against Israeli Patients

Pro-Hamas demonstrators march in the Dutch city of Nijmegen. Photo: Reuters/Romy Arroyo Fernandez

A Muslim nurse in the Netherlands is under police investigation after allegedly threatening to administer lethal injections to Israeli patients — an incident that has sparked public outrage and intensified fears over rising antisemitism and patient safety in Europe’s health-care systems.

The comments were widely circulated by Israeli influencer Max Veifer, who also exposed a recent case in Australia where two nurses were suspended for two years over antisemitic threats and remarks.

In a video shared on social media, Veifer denounced Dutch-Muslim nurse Batisma Chayat Sa’id’s remarks as a serious violation of medical ethics.

“Someone like that should be prosecuted and barred from treating patients. Imagine your grandparents being cared for by someone so hateful,” the Israeli influencer said.

The incident was sparked when an Israeli-Dutch woman living in the Netherlands commented on a social media post by far-right politician Geert Wilders, who cautioned about what he called the country’s looming radical Islamization by 2050.

A social media account belonging to the Muslim nurse also commented on the post, claiming it would happen by 2027, to which the Israeli woman responded, “Your dream is our nightmare. But people wake up from nightmares. Our Netherlands, our Israel.”

“Nothing belongs to you! My grandparents built the Netherlands. I was born and raised here, and I will do everything in my power to help this country get rid of the Zionist cancer,” the nurse further replied.

“You know what I’m doing with Zionists — giving an extra injection as a nurse specialist. Letting them go to heaven!” Sa’id continued.

When the Israeli woman threatened to report her, Sa’id replied: “Haha, try your best! I don’t have a boss — I’m the boss! All Zionists can die, inside healthcare and beyond, and I’m happy to help with that!”

Shortly after her posts gained widespread attention, Sa’id deleted all her social media accounts, insisting that her identity had been stolen and that she was not responsible for such comments.

On Wednesday, local police detained Sa’id for questioning, but she denied the allegations, asserting that someone had impersonated her online.

“It seems someone is pretending to be me, posting false and defamatory statements,” the nurse said. “I want to make it clear — I hold no hatred toward Jews or any people, race, religion, or identity.”

Even after announcing plans to file an identity theft complaint, she faces skepticism from authorities, who have assigned a digital forensics expert to scrutinize her online accounts.

Last year, an account under her name also posted threatening messages aimed at Jewish people, including “Your time will come — don’t spare anyone,” and another in which she described the burial of Israelis in Gaza as “a dream come true.”

Earlier this year, two Australian nurses — Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh — gained international attention after they were seen in an online video posing as doctors and making inflammatory statements during a night-shift conversation with Veifer.

The widely circulated footage, which sparked international outrage and condemnation, showed Abu Lebdeh declaring she would refuse to treat Israeli patients and instead kill them, while Nadir made a throat-slitting gesture and claimed he had already killed many.

Following the incident, New South Wales authorities in Australia suspended their nursing registrations and banned them from working as nurses nationwide.

They were also charged with federal offenses, including threatening violence against a group and using a carriage service to threaten, menace, and harass. If convicted, they face up to 22 years in prison.

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French Authorities Halt Gaza Evacuations After Palestinian Student Expelled Over Viral Antisemitic Posts

Anti-Israel demonstration supporting the BDS movement, Paris France, June 8, 2024. Photo: Claire Serie / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect

French authorities have halted evacuations from Gaza after a Palestinian student was expelled from the prestigious Sciences Po Lille and placed under investigation, following the viral circulation of hundreds of antisemitic posts praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and calling for the murder of Jews.

The incident drew widespread condemnation and public outrage, prompting French ministers to demand answers and call for an investigation into how the Gazan student was allowed into the country in the first place.

On Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that all further evacuations from Gaza would be suspended pending the completion of the investigation into the student’s background.

After receiving a scholarship, 25-year-old Nour Atalla, a Palestinian from Gaza, arrived in the country in early July to begin her master’s degree in law and communications this fall at the Institute of Political Science in Lille, northern France.

Barrot confirmed that discussions are ongoing about the student’s possible return to Gaza, making clear that she must leave the country pending the investigation’s outcome.

“She has no place at Sciences Po, nor in France,” the top French diplomat said.

On Thursday, local authorities reported that a criminal investigation is underway into Atalla, with the public prosecutor in Lille confirming the case was opened for “apology of terrorism, apology of crimes against humanity using an online public communication service.”

Barrot admitted lapses in the screening process that allowed her entry and has mandated a comprehensive review of everyone evacuated from Gaza to France.

“The security checks, carried out by the French services and Israeli authorities, did not detect the antisemitic content,” the French diplomat said.

Atalla is one of 292 Gazans admitted to the country following a court ruling that opened the door for Gazans to seek refugee status based on their nationality.

She was offered a place at Sciences Po Lille University based on “academic excellence” and following a recommendation by the French consulate in Jerusalem.

On Wednesday, the university announced it had revoked Atalla’s enrollment after hundreds of her past antisemitic and violent social media posts went viral, sparking widespread condemnation from political leaders and members of the local Jewish community.

In several of these posts, she glorified Hitler, praised Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, called for the execution of Israeli hostages and the killing of Jews, and expressed support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

In one post, Atalla shared a video of Hitler giving a speech about Jews, writing, “Kill their young and their old. Show them no mercy … And kill them everywhere.”

In another post shared on Oct. 7, 2023, the day of the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, she wrote, “We must do everything we can to match the bloodshed — as much as possible.”

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