As we commemorate a quarter-century since the 9/11 attacks, certain individuals suspect that the administration had involvement in planning or concealing the events.

Despite numerous facts, some remain convinced that all government officials are deceiving us.

Some of the main 9/11 conspiracy ideas:

A controlled demolition occurred;

It was an “inside job.”

U.S. missiles struck the Pentagon;

Powerful figures like Epstein and Cheney not only profited from the attack but also paid Jewish people to stay home that day.

Let’s address each conspiracy theory and supply facts to debunk them.

The controlled demolition theory suggests that someone intentionally destroyed the World Trade Center towers and Building 7 with explosives.

Experts from engineering, construction, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology have disproven this conspiracy. They concluded that fire was the major cause of the building’s collapse.

A FEMA report found that fires caused the buildings’ concrete floors to push outwards against steel columns. The posts bent but stopped further movement.

When the columns resisted shifting, there was nowhere else for the floors to expand. With an increasing buildup of stress, the floor framing and connections gave in. The floor’s failure caused supports to pull back inwards, leading them to buckle and then collapse. This led to a progressive collapse.

Engineers didn’t understand progressive collapse before 9/11. New building codes feature improved stairwell regulations for fire safety and easier evacuation.

The Inside Job theory states that elements of the U.S. government had advanced knowledge of the al-Qaeda attacks but intentionally allowed them. All this to justify subsequent wars in the Middle East and increase domestic surveillance.

Congress and President George W. Bush established the 9/11 Commission, which issued the Final Report. (Click PDF under Download for full report) It assessed how the attacks happened and recommended steps to prevent future ones. The final report, which was released in July 2004, showed how unprepared the U.S. government was for the attacks. In light of the summer 2001 warnings, accepting conspiracy theories is unnecessary.

The U.S. missile theory statement asserts that a U.S. military missile, not American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the Pentagon.

American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757, struck the west side of the Pentagon at 9:37 am on September 11, 2001. The crash killed 59 people on the plane and 125 people inside the building. Investigators recovered the plane’s flight data recorders, engine parts, and fuselage pieces.

Hundreds of spectators on nearby roads and highways saw a commercial airliner hit the Pentagon. The Associated Press reported that security cameras outside the structure showed the plane quickly hitting the wall.

Forensic experts positively identified the remains of the passengers, crew members, and people working inside the Pentagon using DNA.

Antisemitic conspiracy theorists claim that no Jewish people or elites died in the 9/11 attacks.

It’s confirmed that 119 World Trade Center employees were Jewish, with 72 to hundreds more likely lost, according to researchers.

Jewish victims made up 9% to 10% of those killed at the World Trade Center, which matched the Jewish population percentage in the New York area.

False rumors spread after September 11, 2001, claiming that 4,000 Israeli or Jewish employees stayed home from work because of advance notice. This was fabricated; victims of 9/11 included people of many faiths, backgrounds, and nationalities.

The theory that the Israeli government or the Mossad orchestrated the 9/11 attacks as a “false flag” operation to goad the United States into war. This is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that has been debunked.

A segment of people holds the view that the Israeli administration fabricated the assaults to incite the U.S. to assault its adversaries in the area. In contrast, others contend that influential Jewish individuals manipulating global affairs bear responsibility.

The 9/11 Commission and intelligence groups worldwide confirmed al-Qaeda was responsible for the attacks. No evidence indicates Israeli involvement.

The theory that the Israeli government or the Mossad orchestrated the 9/11 attacks as a “false flag” operation to goad the United States into war. Another debunked Judeophobic conspiracy theory.

The American Bar Association points out that this story is like old anti-Jewish ideas. These concepts wrongly portray Jewish people or Israel as evil manipulators causing world problems for their own benefit.

Conspiracy theorists use the subsequent U.S. invasions in the Middle East to construct a false motive retroactively, claiming they designed the attacks to force America into destroying Israel’s regional adversaries.

A mix of far-right white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and anti-Israel state propaganda outlets promotes these extremist echo chambers and their false narratives to delegitimize both the U.S. and Israeli governments.

Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, a firm that lost 658 employees at the WTC, is a key figure in the history of 9/11.

He was later included in the Epstein Files. He had previously donated significantly to Democratic candidates, including Senators Chuck Schumer and Kamala Harris, as well as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

When he became a major fundraiser for Donald Trump in 2024, he came under scrutiny. Though he had vowed no contact with Epstein after 2005, he had lunch with him in 2012, four years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution. This led congressional Democrats to call for him to step down from his position with the Trump administration.

The claim that former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney personally profited from the 9/11 attacks stems from his financial ties with Halliburton, a defense and energy services contractor. However, Cheney had legally stepped down from the company before taking office and took specific steps to insulate his personal wealth from Halliburton’s post 9/11 earnings.

Any earnings Cheney made after 9/11 were from a contractually mandatory payout from his pre-2000 retirement package. They donated any profit from his stock options to his daughter’s high school and a university.

Government watchdogs and journalists investigated whether Cheney influenced military contracts awarded to Halliburton, but no concrete evidence ever proved Cheney directed contracts to the firm.

Halliburton ended the year down 63.8%, falling from an opening price of $36.25 in January to $13.10 by December.

The multi-billion-dollar wartime logistics contracts awarded to Halliburton’s subsidiary, KBR, did not instantly translate into stock market gains in 2001. The financial windfall from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan began impacting the company’s bottom line years later, helping the stock rebound by 2003.

Why are conspiracy theories so persistent?

Conspiracy theories are omnipresent among members of modern and traditional societies. Simply put, a conspiracy theory is the belief that a secret group is planning something harmful. Belief in conspiracy theories is common, despite some people regarding it as a symptom of sickness.

In a 2004 poll, 49% of New York City residents reported that they thought the U.S. government was complicit in the Sept. 11 attacks. In addition, in a nationally representative sample of the U.S. population, 37% answered “agree” to the following statement: “the Food and Drug Administration is deliberately preventing the public from getting natural cures for cancer and other diseases because of pressure from drug companies.”

UC Davis history professor Kathryn Olmsted stated that insecurity makes people more prone to accepting conspiracy theories. They would rather suppose a few wicked individuals orchestrate everything than acknowledge that misfortunes transpire by chance.

When people feel their sense of control or certainty is threatened, they might turn to conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy theories, as researchers have noted, thrive in the gaps. BBC News reported the collapse of Building 7 twenty minutes before it fell. Some researchers claimed to find traces of explosive material, “nano-thermite,” and molten steel after the collapse. Witnesses described horizontal white smoke plumes during the collapse, suggesting explosives were involved. These “gaps,” explained by the controlled demolition theory, account for its popularity.

Global reactions showed theories need to fit what people already believe and how they see the world. A poll by Ipsos-Reid, a major Canadian research firm, revealed that 22% of Canadians held the opinion that powerful Americans, not Osama bin Laden, orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. A popular account in several Muslim-majority countries held that the attacks were the work of the U.S. or Israeli governments. The theory that resonated was the one that fit a preexisting worldview. Polls show Canadians entertaining anti-American government conspiracies more often than about their own government. Islamists would doubt that the attacks were an American effort to demonize Muslims.

The controlled demolition theory remains popular even years after the official report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Their findings concluded that the building’s collapse was the effects of burning for over seven hours. The collapse of the 13th floor weakened a critical support column. It detailed the near-impossibility that thousands of pounds of explosives were snuck past security and placed within the towers.

The theory is flawed because it suggests many people were involved in planting bombs and crashing planes, yet no one ever exposed the plan.

People often build conspiracy theories to be impossible to disprove, unlike legitimate investigations. They use any information, or absence of evidence, as proof of the cover-up, rather than a reason to doubt the theory. This unwavering belief can cause an individual to withdraw from society or take extreme action.

Enhancing critical reasoning is the most successful method for altering conspiracy beliefs.

The generation that experienced it will never forget September 11, 2001. It’s the ones who were babies or have no real recollection, or perhaps read about it in school, who refuse to see it as the atrocity it was. A foreign terrorist attacked the World Trade Center to strike a blow against American economic power and global capitalism because of political and ideological disagreements.

The Pentagon became a target because it represents America’s center of military and political command. And folks think the aircraft that fell in Pennsylvania was going to the White House. The group’s goals were to gain global media exposure, damage economies, and shatter American feelings of security at home.

Before 9/11, 153 Muslim Americans held elected office nationwide. They were at the local municipality, city, or county level. No Muslim Americans had reached statewide or federal office.

The year 2000 marked a historic pre-9/11 high point for civic engagement, with 700 Muslim candidates running for various offices across the country. After the 9/11 attacks, intense backlash and stigmatization caused an 85% drop in candidates, reducing the field to 100 by the 2002 midterms.

Today, though, it’s a different story. There are now 255 Muslim elected officials currently serving in public office across the United States. Starting with Keith Ellison in 2006, six Muslim Americans have sought election to the U.S. Congress, with four holding seats in the House of Representatives. Most Democrats (11) identify as progressive, liberal Democrats interested in social reform. The Constitution already promotes social reform by prohibiting discrimination, supporting worker rights, ensuring access to education, and working to end harmful customs.

The most notable change they want to make concerns Middle East policy. They criticize old U.S. foreign policy. They want to stop or limit military aid to Israel, support Palestinian human rights, and avoid U.S. military action overseas.

Call it what you will, but these radical Muslims are slowly taking over cities, states, and federal government positions to serve the same ideologies that took down the towers. ‘We will never forget’ has turned into ‘how soon we have forgotten.’ Such actions dishonor the fallen.

Editor: Lisa Mildon

Opinion Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and statements expressed in guest posts and contributor content are solely those of the individual author. They do not necessarily reflect the views, positions, or policies of this website, its owner, or its affiliates.