‚ÄòWho Profited from the Crime?‚Äô Intelligence Failure, Conspiracy Theories and the Case of September 11

The article analyzes the political and psychological foundations of "conspiracy theories" in the mass consciousness on the example of interpretations of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. The prerequisites and reasons for the emergence of "9-11" conspiratorial theories in American and global politics in the 1990s and the early 2000s, are considered. In this context, the article examines the ideas of Jacques Derrida that formed the basis of his book "Philosophy in the Age of Terror"; in particular, ршы idea of a specific phenomenon, the so-called "autoimmune suicide".

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Russian Information Warfare and 9/11 Conspiracism

Developments in Information Security and Cybernetic Wars - Advances in Information Security, Privacy, and Ethics ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-8304-2.ch010 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 236-266 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michael Bennett Hotchkiss

Keyword(s):

Cold War ◽

Search Engines ◽

September 11 ◽

16Th Century ◽

The Internet ◽

Information Warfare ◽

Conspiracy Theories ◽

Cold War Era

Following the September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks, several “prophecies” circulated on the internet claiming the 16th century French seer Nostradamus predicted the crisis, leading to “Nostradamus” being the top search on Google and other search engines in 2001. Considering Nostradamus prophecies as popular eschatology, a dimension of political conspiracism, it is observed that while the hoaxes have never been attributed to a specific actor(s), the provenance of the prophecies which circulated on 9/11 are connected to a legacy of Russian Cold War-era propaganda. Additionally, several other conspiracy theories which circulated following 9/11 can be connected to Russia and its military proxy Syria. Considering conspiracy theories as a “populist theory of power,” leveraged by Russia in order to diminish American global dominance, a case is made that Russia is likely responsible for the Nostradamus hoax of 9/11 and similar “active measures” in Poland in 2010, Ukraine in 2014, and Hungary in 2015.

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Conspiracy Theories and the Internet: Controlled Demolition and Arrested Development

Episteme ◽

10.3366/epi.2007.4.2.167 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 167-180 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Steve Clarke

Keyword(s):

World Trade ◽

World Trade Center ◽

Hard Core ◽

September 11 ◽

The Internet ◽

Arrested Development ◽

Conspiracy Theories ◽

The World ◽

Research Programmes ◽

Trade Center

ABSTRACTFollowing Clarke (2002), a Lakatosian approach is used to account for the epistemic development of conspiracy theories. It is then argued that the hypercritical atmosphere of the internet has slowed down the development of conspiracy theories, discouraging conspiracy theorists from articulating explicit versions of their favoured theories, which could form the hard core of Lakatosian research programmes. The argument is illustrated with a study of the “controlled demolition” theory of the collapse of three towers at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

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Russian Information Warfare and 9/11 Conspiracism

Research Anthology on Fake News, Political Warfare, and Combatting the Spread of Misinformation ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-7291-7.ch020 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 346-369

Author(s):

Michael Bennett Hotchkiss

Keyword(s):

Cold War ◽

Search Engines ◽

September 11 ◽

16Th Century ◽

The Internet ◽

Information Warfare ◽

Conspiracy Theories ◽

Cold War Era

Following the September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks, several “prophecies” circulated on the internet claiming the 16th century French seer Nostradamus predicted the crisis, leading to “Nostradamus” being the top search on Google and other search engines in 2001. Considering Nostradamus prophecies as popular eschatology, a dimension of political conspiracism, it is observed that while the hoaxes have never been attributed to a specific actor(s), the provenance of the prophecies which circulated on 9/11 are connected to a legacy of Russian Cold War-era propaganda. Additionally, several other conspiracy theories which circulated following 9/11 can be connected to Russia and its military proxy Syria. Considering conspiracy theories as a “populist theory of power,” leveraged by Russia in order to diminish American global dominance, a case is made that Russia is likely responsible for the Nostradamus hoax of 9/11 and similar “active measures” in Poland in 2010, Ukraine in 2014, and Hungary in 2015.

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Islamophobia

Religious Intolerance in America, Second Edition ◽

10.5149/northcarolina/9781469655628.003.0010 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 247-292

Author(s):

John Corrigan ◽

Lynn S. Neal

Keyword(s):

Popular Culture ◽

September 11 ◽

First Century ◽

Primary Sources ◽

Executive Orders ◽

Conspiracy Theories ◽

Early Twenty ◽

Internet Art ◽

Twenty First Century ◽

Christian Nation

This chapter examines the emergence of Islamophobia after September 11, 2001, and its continued rise in the early twenty-first century with conspiracy theories about Sharia, Christian fears about the future of America as a “Christian nation,” and the presidential campaign and election of Donald Trump. The primary sources in this chapter focus on the birther controversy surrounding President Barack Obama, the racialization of Islam and attacks on Sikhs, media and popular culture stereotypes of Islam as un-American, violent, and oppressive toward women, and the expansion of Islamophobia during the Trump presidency. Various sources, ranging from tweets and radio transcripts to T-shirts and internet art to news interviews and executive orders, demonstrate the growth and pervasiveness of Islamophobia in the twenty-first century United States.

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