DEBUNKING RESOURCES

Controlled demolition of the World Trade Center towers, the absence of a plane at the Pentagon, the shooting down of Flight 93 over Pennsylvania and other theories advanced by the “9/11 truth movement” are false not only logically but contradict the material evidence at the sites and eyewitness accounts. The following are some useful resources that expose the bad science and reasoning behind these theories. People debunking the “truth movement” are not paid by anyone nor do they have a cottage industry bringing in cash via DVDs and speaking engagements like Alex Jones, David Ray Griffin and other conspirationists. Most of their efforts are distributed free on the Internet to combat misinformation about the attacks, and this is only a small selection of the resources available.

Websites:

9/11 Myths – http://www.911myths.com/ – An all-purpose debunking site that confronts the “unanswered questions” waved about by 9/11 deniers, from information about hijackers, to how the towers fell, to the allegations that Tower 7 owner Larry Silverstein blew up his own building to collect insurance money. It’s all here and quite well organized.
9/11 Links – http://wtc7lies.googlepages.com/ – This site hosts Mark Roberts’ extensive research debunking September 11th conspiracy theories, and differentiates itself from 9/11 myths with extensive photographic and factual documentation, following the conspirationist claims into their most minute details. Almost intimidating in its size, the site is broken into sections for addressing the sub-theories and so-called “unanswered questions”, as well as airing out individual truth movement characters like David Ray Griffin and William Rodriguez.
Journal of 9/11 Debunking – http://www.jod911.com/ – A new and in-depth debunking site with participants that include a NASA engineer, demolitions expert Brent Blanchard and a professional pilot, who weigh in with in-depth analysis of truth movement science.
JREF 9/11 Conspiracies Forum – http://forums.randi.org/forumdisplay.php?f=64 A neutral discussion forum for skeptics. Once entertained many truthers who were committed to their arguments, but is by now overwhelmingly critical of the truth movement allegations. Most truthers avoid posting here due to the predominance of science-related professionals posting.
undicisettembre – http://undicisettembre.blogspot.com/ – In-depth Italian-language debunking resource. Excellent English section exposes the bad science behind the claim that Thermite was used to sever the World Trade Center’s support columns and that molten metal found at the base of the towers are evidence of this.

Visual Media:

History Channel – 9/11 Myths – http://youtube.com/watch?v=X1Gc_Wyotzw
Solid documentary that considers the claims of conspiracy theorists one by one, consulting experts in the relevant fields who prove their implausibility. Highly recommended.
BBC Conspiracy Files – 9/11
BBC Conspiracy Files – The Third Tower
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/conspiracy_files/
Two excellent documentaries put together by the BBC which interview key scientists and investigators charged with investigating 9/11 and debunk key truth movement claims. Both documentaries can be found by searching google video.
9/11 Debunked – http:// youtube.com/user/RKOwens4
Youtube user RKOwens4’s point by point debunking of truthers memes in short, accessible segments are also recommended.

Books:

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 Lawrence Wright
Firefight: Inside the Battle to Save the Pentagon on 9/11 Patrick Creed
A recently-released report on the firefighters who fought the Pentagon blaze, written side by side with the participants, and including many accounts of plane wreckage.
There are of course many more resources than these, and I encourage those interested in the subject to do their own research. Of course conspirationists will often have a set of answers available when their theories are debunked, since their goal is to keep talking at all costs. Let them talk. It is a sort of hobby for them. For the critically minded these debates are only useful for exposing reactionary theories (and the preconceptions that underlie them) and sharpening one’s reasoning skills.

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