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11/9 heralded the beginning of the era of conspiracy theories.
They have been destroying the United States ever since
Americans have always been drawn to conspiracy theories, from UAVs to the assassination of Canadians, but the terrorist attack 20 years ago coincided with the spread of the Internet - and today's conspiracy theories led to the Capitol storm and Corona's denial.
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United States
On September 11th
Conspiracy theories
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Saturday, September 11, 2021, 20:46
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In the video: Memorial service to mark the 20th anniversary of the twin disaster (Photo: Reuters)
Corey Roe served in Iraq and Afghanistan and returned home to the United States in 2004 traumatized and frustrated. His experiences overseas and the burning questions about 9/11 convinced him that America's leaders had lied about what had happened that day and the wars that followed.
The result was "Loose Change," a 2005 documentary produced by Roe and his childhood friend Dylan Avery. The film spread the theory that the US administration was behind the 9/11 attacks. It was one of the first viral hits on the Internet, still in its infancy, and it encouraged millions of people to wonder if what they were told was true.
While the attacks united many Americans in grief and rage, the film spoke to those it did not touch.
"It was a lightning rod that caught the light," Roe recalled.
He hoped the film would lead to a sober examination of the attacks.
He does not regret the film, and still doubts the official version of events, but he says he is very concerned that the 9/11 conspiracy theories have exposed the corrupting nature of online disinformation.
Does not regret the film, but is troubled by what is happening online.
Corey Row (Photo: AP)
Over the course of 20 years, the doubts and suspicions revealed by those conspiracy theories intensified as they spread across the web and were fueled by commentators and politicians like Donald Trump. Fiction stories popped up like mushrooms in the rain, one more bizarre than the other: Obama was not born in the United States, Pizza-Gate and Qanon.
"Look where it got to: some people are storming the Capitol because they believe the election was fake. You have people who have not been vaccinated and they are dying in hospitals," Rowe said. "We've reached a point where information is already killing people."
The conspiracy theories existed long before 9/11 and they questioned the official versions surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy and landing on the moon and talked about the "UFO crash" in Roswell in 1947. Americans' interest in such theories had already increased before the Twin Towers attacks. The science fiction "Bags in the Dark" opened with the sentences "The truth is out there" and "Do not trust anyone."
However, it was 9/11 that heralded the beginning of an era of suspicion and disbelief, and revealed the Internet's ability to resonate with conspiracy theories and false stories.
"Conspiracy theories have always been with us, and only the means to share them have changed," explained Karen Douglas, a professor of psychology at the University of Kent in Angela who deals with the question of why people believe such stories.
"The Internet has made conspiracy theories more visible and collaborative than IPs. People can easily find people with similar thoughts, join groups and share their views."
Some Americans believe the administration is behind the attacks.
The Twin Towers go up in flames (Photo: AP)
The conspiracy theories that dealt with and responded to the 9/11 attacks also gave early exposure to some of those people who promoted the lies and false news about the corona plague, vaccines and the recent US presidential election. One of them is Alex Jones, a Trump supporter who ran the far-right InfoWars website. Among other things, he claimed that the United States planned the attack and that the 2012 Sandy Hawk school massacre was a "scam." Jones co-produced the third edition of the film "Loose Change."
Polls show that belief in conspiracy theories around 9/11 peaked shortly after the attack, until it waned. According to Mark Fenster, a law professor at the University of Florida who researches the history of conspiracy theories, this is not surprising.
He said shaky and sudden events often feed conspiracy theories because the public has a hard time understanding them.
"A plane crashing on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon? It sounds like something out of the movies," he said.
"It doesn't look like a real event, and such an unusual event sometimes leads to the growth of a conspiracy theory around it."
A supporter of Trump who believes in Qanon and participated in the attack on the Capitol (Photo: AP)
In the past, conspiracy theorists have relied on books, pamphlets, and nightly entertainment programs to publicize their doctrine. Today, they use ad platforms like Reddit, upload videos to YouTube and persuade surfers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
As far as is known, the first conspiracy theory on 9/11 was formed just hours after the attack, when an American software engineer emailed a forum asking if the destruction of the towers did not look like a controlled explosion.
20 years later, thousands of YouTube videos still focus on conspiracy theories dealing with those attacks. This is a very large number, but the "mother" of modern conspiracy theories has lagged far behind its successors: while a Google search for "September 11 conspiracy theory" yields eight million results, a similar search for corona-related conspiracy theories yields three times more results.
Technology companies say they are doing everything they can to limit the distribution of Pike News related to 9/11.
YouTube has added links to videos from authorized sources on the subject, Facebook said it has added a fact check to viral scams, including one claiming the Pentagon was hit by a missile and not a plane.
"The White House was the source of the conspiracy theories."
Trump supporter demonstrates against election results (Photo: AP)
The conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks have never been attributed a threat similar to that of the Pike News over the corona plague and last year's US presidential election. However, even supporters of those 9/11 conspiracy theories admit that they contributed to creating the contemporary atmosphere of mistrust and anxiety.
"The danger is that when there is this mistrust of the authorities and the government, it becomes a dangerous place," said Matt Campbell, a British citizen whose brother was killed in the Twin Towers attacks. Campbell believes the towers collapsed in a controlled explosion and he seeks to open a new investigation into the death of his brother in the UK.
According to Fenster, when the lack of trust underlying these theories takes root, there is a danger that it will split society or be exploited by politicians like Trump.
"Usually people who feel excluded from power adopt conspiracy theories," he explained.
"What was different this time was that the ruling party (the Republican Party under Trump) was the main source of conspiracy theories."
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