Twenty-five years after the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, conspiracy theories about the event remain popular online. These theories are often shared through articles and videos on social media platforms, where some accounts have hundreds of thousands of followers. Recently, some of these theories have explored potential connections between the 2001 attacks and the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel. In France, individuals like Alain Soral, a convicted Holocaust denier, and Thierry Meyssan, a well-known promoter of 9/11 conspiracy theories, are frequently associated with these publications. Meyssan once claimed in a 2002 interview that no planes hit the Pentagon, arguing that no physical evidence of the plane was found except for delayed black boxes.
In the United States, similar figures include Alex Jones, who was once close to former President Donald Trump. Younger generations, many of whom were not even born in 2001, are increasingly drawn to these conspiracy theories. According to a recent study by the YouGov institute, individuals aged 18 to 29 are the most likely to believe in this type of disinformation. Common theories include the idea that no planes actually struck the World Trade Center, with some suggesting the events were instead computer-generated images or holograms. Another popular claim is that the collapse of World Trade Center 7—where the CIA had offices—was the result of a controlled demolition by the U.S. government.
This theory was first promoted in the 2005 documentary "Loose Change," which has been viewed by tens of millions of people worldwide. The film has become a symbol of the disinformation surrounding September 11, 2001, an event that marked a significant turning point in the spread of false information. The rise of social media has made the spread of information—and its distortion—faster and more widespread, as seen in events like the Covid-19 pandemic or the October 7, 2023 attacks. For many people, September 11, 2001, has become a gateway into the world of conspiracy theories, illustrating how historical events can be reshaped by digital narratives.
Conspiracy Theories Surrounding September 11 Continue to Circulate Online
AI-rewritten from original reportingHow it works
911conspiracysocialmediadisinformationyoungpeopleholocaustdenial



