Conspiracy Theories: A Guide to the World's Most Intriguing Mysteries

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Charlie Brooker, a British comedian and multimedia personality, in a July 2008 column published by The Guardian as part of its "Comment is free" series agreed that 9/11 conspiracy theorists fail to take in account human fallacies and added that believing in these theories gives theorists a sense of belonging to a community that shares privileged information thus giving the theorists a delusional sense of power. [215] The commentary generated over 1700 online responses, the largest in the history of the series. [216] In a September 2009 piece, The Guardian was more supportive of 9/11 conspiracy theories, asking, "when did it become uncool to ask questions? When did questioners become imbeciles?" [217] Farrer, Gordon (November 5, 2010). "Don't get caught in the web of conspiracy theory truthiness". Sydney Morning Herald – Smh.com.au. Archived from the original on March 15, 2011 . Retrieved May 30, 2011. Griffin, David Ray (2007). Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics and Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory. Olive Branch Press. ISBN 978-1-56656-686-5. ADL: Anti-Semitic 9/11 theories still strong 10 years on". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com . Retrieved December 14, 2017.

conspiracy theories exposed ITN November 10, 2008". Itn.co.uk. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009 . Retrieved July 20, 2009. a b c d e Taibbi, Matt (2008). The Great Derangement. New York: Spiegel & Grau. pp. 9–12, 148–166. ISBN 978-0-385-52034-8. Lee Keath (April 23, 2008). "Al Qaeda audiotape blisters Iran over who executed 9/11". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved May 30, 2011. Adam Harvey (September 3, 2006). "9/11 myths busted". The Courier-Mail. Archived from the original on October 8, 2008 . Retrieved May 29, 2014.

6. Mass shootings like Sandy Hook were “false flags”

a b Curiel, Jonathan (September 3, 2006). "The Conspiracy to Rewrite 9/11". The San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved June 2, 2009. The initial options were bought through at least two brokerage firms, including NFS, a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, and TD Waterhouse. It was estimated that the trader or traders would have realized a five million dollar profit. The Securities and Exchange Commission launched an insider trading investigation in which Osama bin Laden was a suspect after receiving information from at least one Wall Street Firm. [73]

Sassoon, Donald (August 18, 2010). "Francesco Cossiga obituary". The Guardian. London . Retrieved February 16, 2011. Barber, Peter (July 8, 2008). "The truth is out there". Financial Times. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009 . Retrieved May 23, 2009. Cohen, Ben (July 23, 2009). "Why the Birthers Matter". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011 . Retrieved May 30, 2011. Such ideas have always had a particular attraction for me. They exist at a curious intersection between fictional and historical interpretations of events, highlighting how much of what we understand as “history” is a partial narrative, a story based on a selective interpretation of facts. In a way, each conspiracy theory – like a story – attempts to simplify the complexity of an event into a stable, unified narrative, with a clearly traceable agency and explicable motive. As a result, the conspiracy theory tends to assert itself with a stronger sense of truth and falsehood, of right and wrong. The writer of fiction does something a little similar, but with no pretence to revealing the truth. The best novelists, it seems to me, use conspiracy theories to show complexity and explore the doubts, confusions and uncertainties that haunt every official account of “what really happened”.

2. The CIA had a hand in JFK's assassination

Truthers are overlooking key point about 9/11 Human nature Doug MacEachern for the Arizona Republic May 11, 2008". Azcentral.com. May 11, 2008 . Retrieved July 20, 2009. Bažant, Z.K.P.; Verdure, M. (2007). "Mechanics of Progressive Collapse: Learning from World Trade Center and Building Demolitions" (PDF). Journal of Engineering Mechanics. American Society of Civil Engineers. 133 (3): 308–319. doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9399(2007)133:3(308). As generally accepted by the community of specialists in structural mechanics and structural engineering (though not by a few outsiders claiming a conspiracy with planted explosives), the failure scenario was as follows: [continues with a four-part scenario of progressive structural failure]. The Conspiracy Files (Television production). BBC News. February 18, 2007 . Retrieved January 1, 2010. a b "Neue Videos vom 11. September -New videos of September 11". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. September 10, 2010 . Retrieved September 12, 2010. Das private "International Center for 9/11 Studies" hatte erfolgreich auf Herausgabe der Videodokumente geklagt und sie nun auf seinem eigenen Kanal bei Youtube veröffentlicht. [The private "International Center for 9/11 Studies" had successfully sued for release of the videos, and they have now published them on their own channel on Youtube.] Das "National Institute of Standards and Technology"... hatte die Videos... jahrelang nicht freigegeben. [The "National Institute of Standards and Technology"... had not released the videos for years.]... Die bislang unbekannten Videos sollen als weitere Beweise für eine Verschwörung rund um den 11. September dienen. [The previously unknown videos are intended to serve as further evidence of a conspiracy surrounding September 11.]... Eine Vielzahl der nun neu veröffentlichten Videos zeigt Bilder vom WTC7. [Many of the newly released videos show pictures of WTC7.]

Denver public television KBDI-TV has aired 9/11 truth documentaries several times. The stations spokesperson claimed airing these documentaries has been a boon for the stations fund raising efforts. [229] Abraham H. Foxman (September 8, 2006). "9/11 Conspiracy Theories Take Root in Arab/Muslim World". Adl.org -This article originally appeared in Jewish News Weekly of Northern California. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011 . Retrieved May 30, 2011. Barber, Peter (June 7, 2008). "The truth is out there". Financial Times. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009 . Retrieved May 23, 2009. an army of sceptics, collectively described as the 9/11 Truth movement Most academic and intellectual commentary has asserted that conspiracy theories constitute a dysfunctional, extremist vein on the margins of a well-designed U.S. political bloodstream. That thesis cannot fully explain either conspiracy theories or “normal” politics, and it ultimately limits our understanding of the pervasive role that conspiracy theories play in U.S. culture and politics. The Trump era and its aftermath more clearly showed what was visible even before our troubling present: we are all, to a varying degree, conspiracy theorists. In 1853, the Scottish minister Alexander Hislop published his anti-Catholic pamphlet The Two Babylons, [134] in which he claims that the Catholic Church is secretly a continuation of the pagan religion of ancient Babylon, the product of a millennia-old conspiracy founded by the Biblical king Nimrod and the Assyrian queen Semiramis. [134] It also claims that modern Catholic holidays, including Christmas and Easter, are actually pagan festivals established by Semiramis and that the customs associated with them are pagan rituals. Modern scholars have unanimously rejected the book's arguments as erroneous and based on a flawed understanding of Babylonian religion, [134] but variations of them are still accepted among some groups of evangelical Protestants. [134] The Jehovah's Witnesses periodical The Watchtower frequently published excerpts from it until the 1980s. [135] The book's thesis has also featured prominently in the conspiracy theories of racist groups, such as The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord. [136]a b "Fox takes heat from left and right over analysts". CNN. December 1, 2010. Archived from the original on December 18, 2021 . Retrieved December 8, 2010. Hayes, Christopher (December 10, 2006). "The 9/11 Truth Movement's Dangers". CBS News. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009 . Retrieved June 8, 2009. Wysling, Andres (September 7, 2010). "9/11 in Nahaufnahme −9/11 up close". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Archived from the original on September 10, 2010 . Retrieved September 18, 2010. The Top September 11 Conspiracy Theories". Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. September 16, 2006. Archived from the original on February 28, 2011.

The Resuscitation of Anti-Semitism: An American Perspective: An Interview with Abraham Foxman". Jcpa.org. Archived from the original on June 8, 2011 . Retrieved May 30, 2011. Weigel, David (April 25, 2011). "You're All Nuts! How America became the land of Truthers, Triggers, Birthers, and Dan Brown fans". Slate.com . Retrieved May 30, 2011. What if an occult conflict between two rival mail distribution companies was the key to understanding US history? A secretive postal system – the Tristero, with mailboxes disguised as rubbish bins that display the mysterious slogan W.A.S.T.E (We Await Silent Tristero’s Empire), is a pervasive presence in this short novel. But does it even exist, or is it all a figment of Oedipa Maas’s fevered imagination as she tries to execute the will of a former lover amid the pop cultural wasteland of southern California? Swift, Earl (September 9, 2002). "Inside the Pentagon on 9/11: The Call of Duty". Pilot Online. Virginian-Pilot. Archived from the original on July 30, 2004 . Retrieved May 1, 2010. German Protestors Marked 9/11 by Denouncing "Inside Job," "Reichstag Fire" Weekly Standard September 21, 2010". Weeklystandard.com. September 21, 2010. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013 . Retrieved October 15, 2010.a b c Jim Dwyer (September 2, 2006). "2 U.S. Reports Seek to Counter Conspiracy Theories About 9/11". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 12, 2011 . Retrieved April 30, 2009. Bernays honest and practical manual provides much insight into some of the most powerful and influential institutions of contemporary industrial state capitalist democracies.” Cossiga, Francesco (April 9, 2006). "La Realta' Travisata Si teorizzano i complotti per non vedere". La Stampa (in Italian). Archived from the original on September 19, 2010 . Retrieved February 16, 2011. mi sembra improbabile anzi impossibile che l'11 settembre sia stato frutto di un complotto americano. [it seems unlikely, indeed impossible, that September 11 was the result of an American plot.] Brean, Joseph (October 9, 2010). "Saturday Interview: The CIC's Canadian imam National Post October 2010". National Post. Canada . Retrieved March 5, 2021. In 2008, calls for the resignation of Richard Falk, the special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories for the United Nations, were partially based on his support investigating the validity of 9/11 conspiracy theories. [258] In 2011, Falk praised a book by David Ray Griffin. Falk was condemned for his remarks by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and United States ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice. [259]