Why the Lies Won’t Die
It’s been a quarter-century since the Twin Towers fell, yet the conspiracy theories are still alive and kicking in New York. The official story is clear: 19 terrorists hijacked four planes, crashed two into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and a fourth in Pennsylvania. But thousands of Americans still refuse to believe that’s the full picture. James Lindsay, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told the Washington Examiner that these theories emerged nearly immediately after the Twin Towers came down, and time has not resolved this; in fact, it has exacerbated the issue in some ways.
Why do these stories stick? Lindsay points to the internet as the main culprit. “You get new generations that all of a sudden stumble on an article, a web link, a TikTok, that purports to tell them the real story about what happened, and that can be quite powerful,” he said. Millions of people today weren’t even alive on September 11, 2001. They learned about the tragedy through a digital world that often rewards sensationalism over truth. Warped narratives spread fast, especially when young minds encounter videos or articles that claim to reveal a “hidden truth” about the attacks.
The Cost of Secrecy
The source of this confusion isn’t just bad actors online; it’s also the relationship between the government and the public. Lindsay observed that the “relationship between government secrecy, leaked or released documents, and public revelations of government malfeasance has proven to be a powerful acid of institutional trust” When people feel the government is hiding something, they assume the worst. This skepticism is fertile ground for theories ranging from the idea that intelligence agencies knew more than they admitted, to the wild claim that a missile, not a plane, hit the Pentagon.
While some theories are just routine doubts, others are elaborate fabrications. Reports highlight that people try to explain horrific events, and those with a preset agenda may use such tragedies to disseminate their message. It’s not just about explaining the past; it’s about pushing an agenda in the present. But this secret activity does come at an epistemic cost, Lindsay warned. When trust erodes, reality becomes negotiable, and that’s a dangerous place for any society to be.
A Different Kind of Memory
Not every memory of 9/11 is tainted by conspiracy. Many of us remember the heroism, like the Great American Boatlift that evacuated hundreds of thousands of people from Lower Manhattan. As one writer recalled, the operation was “bigger than Dunkirk,” a moment of pure American unity. Another person shared their story of being a pharmacy technician in St. Louis, listening to the radio, and realizing their wedding plans were suddenly overshadowed by national tragedy. These are the real stories: the fear, the love, the loss, and the resilience.
We need to separate the facts from the fiction. The attacks were real, the death toll was 2,977, and the terrorists were identified. We don’t need to invent alternative histories to make sense of the horror. The truth is hard enough to swallow without adding a layer of conspiracy on top. As we mark 25 years, let’s focus on what we know: the bravery of first responders, the strength of the survivors, and the need to protect our city from future threats.
This is opinion and commentary from the RapForMayor team.
