Perception & Propaganda: Media Analysis of 9/11
Anyone who regularly reads newspapers is by now aware that there are people questioning the official version of events of September 11, 2001. Examples of coverage of the the "9/11 conspiracy theorists", as the mainstream media consistently characterizes the skeptics of the official story, include front-page articles in the Wall Street Journal and feature articles in Time and Popular Mechanics.
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Media Perception Management
In the wake of the attack, the mainstream media framed it as an act of war to be avenged, rather than a crime to be investigated. The guilt of islamic terrorists and Osama bin Laden was presented as an open-and-shut case. The use of language to seal the official story as the default reality needing no examination or verification is illustrated by the framing of the destruction of the World Trade Center skyscrapers as collapses.
by C. Thurston
Critiques
In the years since the attack, the mainstream media has consistently belittled challenges to the official version of events as delusional. 911Review.com has archived a number of representative attack articles in the print media, and added commentary exposing their use of propagandistic techniques.
911Review.com
CounterPunch.org
In November 2006, Counterpunch.org published a series of articles by Manuel Garcia, Jr. purporting to debunk "conspiracy theories" about the destruction of the World Trade Center. The first article was .
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by Kevin Ryan -
by Jim Hoffman -
A Quick Review of Manuel Garcia's article
"We See Conspiracies That Don't Exist: The Physics of 9/11"
by Kevin Ryan
Popular Mechanics
The magazine Popular Mechanics featured the article in its March, 2005 issue. The article broadly attacks all "conspiracy theorists" questioning the official version of events of 9/11/01. A year later Popular Mechanics published the book Debunking 9/11 Myths which revised and updated the content of its magazine article.
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by Jim Hoffman
Public Opinion Polls
The media's consistent dismissal of skepticism of the official account does not reflect public opinion on the subject. A number of polls have showed that that a majority of Americans doubt the official account, and that the depth of skepticism appears to be growing.
2004 Zogby Poll
In August of 2004, a Zogby International poll indicated that 49.3% New York City residents and 41% of New York citizens "overall" say US Leaders "knew in advance that attacks were planned on or around September 11, 2001, and that they consciously failed to act." The poll, released on August 30, 2004, also found that 66% called for a new probe.
Zogby.com
2006 Zogby Poll
In May of 2006, a Zogby International poll showed that 42% of Americans were more likely agree with people who believe that "the US government and its 9/11 Commission concealed or refused to investigate critical evidence that contradicts their official explanation of the September 11th attacks, saying there has been a cover-up."
Zogby.com
2006 Scripps Howard Poll
In July of 2006, a Scripps Howard and Ohio University poll concluded that, "Thirty-six percent of respondents overall said it is "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that certain federal officials either participated in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or took no action to stop them", and "sixteen percent said it's "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that the collapse of the twin towers in New York was aided by explosives secretly planted in the two buildings."
Scripps Howard News Service
2006 Ipsos-Reid Poll
In September of 2006, an Ipsos-Reid poll found that 22 percent of Canadians believe "the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, had nothing to do with Osama Bin Laden and were actually a plot by influential Americans."
oneIndia.com
2006 New York Times and CBS News Poll
In October of 2006, a New York Times and CBS news poll showed that 28 percent believed that members of the Bush Administration were mostly lying about "what they knew prior to September 11th, 2001, about possible terrorist attacks against the United States."
Angus Reid Global Monitor