9/11 Attacks: 20 Years Later Conspiracy Theories Abound

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9/11 Attacks: 20 Years Later Conspiracy Theories Abound

While the world still mourns the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center, the free information space is still flooded with conspiracy theories regarding what happened. Even though most of these theories have been proven wrong by experts on the matter. We give you an overview of trends of disinformation about 9/11 that have dominated the internet over the last couple of weeks.

  • It has been observed that the conspiracy theories have varied between the more “moderate” which suggests that the US intelligence deliberately ignored warnings and allowed the attacks to occur and stories that are completely fabricated and baseless claiming that no planes were ever hijacked. It’s claimed that the buildings collapsed after a deliberate detonation was triggered.

 

  • The Slovak disinformation actors aim to constantly reinforce the 9/11 conspiracy theories. The intention is to make the general population inclined into accepting them preferring to ignore the official version provided by public institutions on how the events unfolded.

How Slovak Disinformation Actors Feed Popular Inquisitiveness In Conspiracy Theories?

It was the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon last week and the international community has come together to stand in solidarity with the victims. However, the disinformation actors in Slovakia were still spreading vicious conspiracy theories on this somber occasion.

The Slovak disinformation actors have consistently over the years sought to propagate various conspiracy theories around the ghastly 9/11 attacks showing scant regard for the sentiments of the victims. It wasn’t any different this year as the information space was yet again filled with conspiracy theories that seek to weaken the trust that people have in public institutions.

 

Dominant Arguments—Remote Controlled Detonation And Building 7 Collapsing Mysteriously

One of the most dominant conspiracy theories that doubt official statements is that the collapse of the WTC was triggered by a remote-controlled device. To put it simply, it was deliberate. Those propagating this theory argue that the steel structure of the building not being able to withstand the fire that was caused by the jets crashing into buildings is questionable. They say that jet fuel doesn’t burn at temperatures so high that it could melt steel.

Before we let our imagination take wings, we should realize that in reality, there’s no evidence available to corroborate this theory. Even though this theory lacked any backing by hard evidence, it was still spread widely by many outlets for disinformation like the InfoVojna and Zem a Vek.

 

The Collapse Of Building 7

The disinformation outlets have gone to town while pointing out what they call the “mystery of the collapse of the third WTC tower,” commonly called Building 7. The fact that the building came down a few hours after the actual terror attack is seen as foolproof evidence that confirms their theory of an intentional detonation.

The disinformation media claims that the building collapses in less than three seconds even though there was no jet crashing into it is enough to raise suspicions about what official accounts claim. It’s also argued that the fire ravaging through the building wasn’t so strong that it led to the collapse of the entire building. The disinformation media goes on to claim that Building 7 was home to the CIA’s secret headquarters and the building collapse helped the authorities cover up any evidence that could point at a deliberate demolition.

As with all conspiracy theories, the explanation to debunk them is pretty simple. It does appear from certain angles that the building wasn’t seriously damaged, but the actual footage available shows that there indeed was devastating damage.

There was a deep hole that gaped into the building directly above the ground level eating into a quarter of the whole structure. This damage was caused by the scorching fires triggered by generators that ran on highly combustible diesel. Again, the water supply to the automatic fire extinguishing system was cut off as a result of the collision. Hence, it had stopped working. As a consequence, the fires were intense enough to weaken the beams’ strength.

 

How 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Have Affected Public Perception Of Covid-19?

Among the first disinformation campaigns to benefit from the open internet environment was the one on 9/11 as the conspiracy theories spread far and wide. The most recent event that has spawned a host of false narratives is the Covid-19 outbreak. After the public confidence in official versions of events was hit post 9/11, conspiracy theorists sought to exploit the distrust to spread misinformation about Covid-19.

The general argument doing the rounds is that “since they faked 9/11, they also faked the pandemic.” Slovakia-based Facebook conspiracy theory blog Strážca Poznania released a photo showing the towers collapsing and people wearing masks. The intention was to question the general public faith in the official stance on 9/11 and Covid-19. It indicated that seeking to protect oneself from Covid-19 by wearing masks was a sign of “herd reaction,” a complete subjugation of individual consciousness.

 

9/11 Conspiracy Theories- The Conclusion

Judging by what we have discussed in the article, it’s clear that by reinforcing their conspiracy theories around the 9/11 attacks, the disinformation actors seek to foster doubts in the minds of the people. This will in turn nurture suspicions in the masses allowing conspiratorial thinking to take roots in them.

It creates a potentially dangerous situation where the people become inclined to challenge all official versions of events and start weaving their own stories. Such an attitude seriously undermines the credibility of all government institutions and may trigger chaos.

Spreading rumors and fear mongering can be very damaging when unfortunate events like 9/11 unfold. The onus is on all right-thinking individuals to debunk these damaging conspiracy theories so that the government bodies can establish order in times of mayhem. Questioning official versions of events based on concocted information greatly damages public trust in the authorities. Such moves must be resisted strongly.

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