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Frequently asked questions

Many of these questions arise frequently on the talk page concerning the 9/11 conspiracy theories.

To view an explanation to the answer, click the [show] link to the right of the question.

Q1: Why does this article not discuss 9/11 conspiracy theories as a valid scientific or historical hypothesis?

A1: Wikipedia relies on reliable sources that have a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. The Neutral point of view policy, especially the sections Undue weight and Equal validity, requires that editors not add their own editorial biases when writing text based on such sources. As the relevant academic field generally rejects the several hypotheses grouped under the umbrella of 9/11 conspiracy theories, it would be a disservice to our readers to have a full description of the topic that does not reflect the consensus view. Further advice for how to treat topics such as this one may be found at the Fringe theories and Reliable sources guidelines.

Q2: Doesn't Wikipedia's policy on "neutrality" require a neutral treatment?

A2: Wikipedia's policy on neutrality does not require that all hypotheses be treated as equal or valid, nor is neutrality decided by the opinions of editors. On Wikipedia, neutrality is represented by a fair summary of the opinion found in the relevant scholarly, academic, or otherwise expert community. If that community rejects an idea with unanimity or near-unanimity, due weight requires that that rejection be presented.

Q3: Why didn't you include (other theory) in the article?

A3: Wikipedia's due weight guidelines state that an article should "make appropriate reference to the majority viewpoint wherever relevant and must not represent content strictly from the perspective of the minority view." Thus, we cover those conspiracy theories which have received significant coverage in reliable sources.

Q4: Isn't the official government story a "conspiracy theory" too?

A4: Wikipedia refers to reliable mainstream sources when determining appropriate descriptions. As such sources do not commonly refer to the official account as a "conspiracy theory" neither do articles here. The term conspiracy theory is typically used for claims that an event is "the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public." Although the version in government reports would fit the literal meaning of the term, conspiracy theories are generally viewed as theories that "read between the lines," and assume a hidden motive & massive manipulation of evidence to deceive the public. By nature, conspiracy theories are unsubstantiated and intended to question the official or scientific explanation.

Q5: Isn't "conspiracy theory" a pejorative term? Shouldn't the article be named something more neutral?

A5: Titles are typically chosen based on whether it is the common name used for the subject in reliable sources. While the term conspiracy theory has been used as a pejorative, so has "scientist," "American," and various other terms. It is not universally considered pejorative. There have been numerous discussions about the title of the article since the attacks occurred. After several debates, "conspiracy theory" has been judged to be the most common, accurate, and neutral term to describe the subject this article covers.

Q6: My edit was cited. Why was it removed?

A6: Wikipedia requires all contentious claims be cited to reliable sources. This is difficult with conspiracy theories, as they are already outside the mainstream. Generally speaking, we do not consider citations from blogs, websites with no editorial oversight, or YouTube videos to be reliable. If the material is about living people, this is especially important. If you feel your citation fits within Wikipedia's guidelines, please post a comment on the Talk page so it can be discussed.

9/11 conspiracy theories was a good articles nominee, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. There may be suggestions below for improving the article. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
March 29, 2006	Peer review	Reviewed
June 3, 2006	Good article nominee	Not listed
August 12, 2006	Articles for deletion	Speedily kept

Current status: Former good article nominee

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This article has been mentioned by a media organization:

Noam Cohen (11 September 2011). "On Wikipedia, Echoes of 9/11 'Edit Wars'". The New York Times.

Section sizes

Section size for 9/11 conspiracy theories (39 sections)
Section name	Byte count	Section total
(Top)	9,320	9,320
Background	7,363	7,363
History	21,643	21,643
Types	2,818	2,818
Theories	15	71,913
Foreknowledge	1,247	15,167
Suspected insider trading	6,774	6,774
Air-defense stand-down theory	4,315	4,315
Alleged communications leak	1,116	1,116
Israeli agents	1,715	1,715
World Trade Center	11,883	11,883
Pentagon	12,717	12,717
Flight 93	8,309	8,309
Hijackers	4,647	4,647
Foreign governments	2,883	15,972
Israel	6,506	6,506
Antisemitism in conspiracy theories	2,650	2,650
Saudi Arabia	3,933	3,933
No-planes theory	3,203	3,203
Cover-up allegations	28	7,948
Cockpit recorders	2,542	2,542
Bin Laden tapes	4,641	4,641
CIA recruitment efforts	737	737
Motives	15	4,240
Pax Americana	1,815	1,815
Invasions	2,060	2,060
New World Order	350	350
Suggested historical precedents	1,581	1,581
Proponents	8,001	11,725
Analysis	3,724	3,724
Media reaction	25,163	25,163
Criticism	11,824	11,824
In politics	13,450	13,450
Legal cases	1,239	1,239
See also	383	383
Notes	26	26
References	1,732	1,732
Bibliography	6,384	6,384
External links	1,918	1,918
Total	200,670	200,670

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): YourGuyJY.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 13:08, 16 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 29 January 2021

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

The section on insider trading includes the excerpt from the 9/11 Commission Report describing how one firm purchased 95% of the put options on one of the days, but does not mention the detail that this was Alex. Brown, which A. B. Krongard had been a director at. This was mentioned in the press at the time. Example: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/mystery-terror-insider-dealers-9237061.html 216.164.226.176 (talk) 03:57, 29 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Not done, not in reference given. ◢ Ganbaruby!  (Say hi!) 06:37, 29 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Requested move 31 January 2022

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: No consensus. There are differing views as to which title better satisfies WP:COMMONNAME, as well as how to weigh the criteria of consistency and precision. (non-admin closure) Colin M (talk) 19:49, 10 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

9/11 conspiracy theories → September 11 conspiracy theories – Most other articles in the topic area call it the "September 11 attacks" or just "September 11", not "9/11". The last move request was in 2010, but consensus could have changed since then. Another alternative could be Conspiracy theories about the September 11 attacks. –LaundryPizza03 (d c̄) 22:36, 31 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Neutral. After reading User talk:Crouch, Swale's comment and thinking about it some more, the current title probably is the more common term, despite it not being consistent with our other article titles. I'm now neutral on this move. ~~Support~~ to be WP:CONSISTENT with the formatting of main article. Rreagan007 (talk) 00:00, 1 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Weak oppose this was discussed in 2018, see Talk:9/11 conspiracy theories/Archive 40#Requested move 18 December 2018. Google results for September 11 conspiracy theories mainly return things calling it 9/11 conspiracy theories. Yes we should generally try to be consistent but given this is seems to be more of a named topic rather than a descriptive title I think we look at what this is called not the main event. Crouch, Swale (talk) 11:09, 2 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support people say "9/11" because it's faster (and the people on Twitter who promote these theories would say "Bush did 9/11" because they are using a spoken register in their writing), but in written registers "September 11" is preferred. User:力 (powera, π, ν) 23:31, 5 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

• Oppose to main general suggestion. In particular, note that “September 11” and “conspiracy theory” when combined created a longer title than necessary. Moreover, the terrorist attacks aren’t actually the primary topic of “September 11”, but they are the primary topic of “9/11”. This type of move seems to have zero benefit at best, but many drawbacks at worst. Strong oppose to last alternative suggestion. That is an excessively unwieldy title. Could serve as a good redirect. Mrbeastmodeallday (talk) 12:24, 7 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Wiki Education assignment: English 202A Writing in the Social Sciences

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 23 August 2022 and 9 December 2022. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Charisse.v (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Cmh6798 (talk) 02:45, 10 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 • '''Oppose''' to main general suggestion. In particular, note that “September 11” and “conspiracy theory” when combined created a longer title than necessary. Moreover, the terrorist attacks aren’t actually the primary topic of “September 11”, but they are the primary topic of “9/11”. This type of move seems to have zero benefit at best, but many drawbacks at worst. '''Strong oppose''' to last alternative suggestion. That is an excessively unwieldy title. Could serve as a good redirect. [[User:Mrbeastmodeallday|Mrbeastmodeallday]] ([[User talk:Mrbeastmodeallday|talk]]) 12:24, 7 February 2022 (UTC)
 {{abot}}
+==Wiki Education assignment: English 202A Writing in the Social Sciences==
+{{dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment | course = Wikipedia:Wiki_Ed/Penn_State_Lehigh_Valley/English_202A_Writing_in_the_Social_Sciences_(Fall_2022) | assignments = [[User:Charisse.v|Charisse.v]] | start_date = 2022-08-23 | end_date = 2022-12-09 }}
+<span class="wikied-assignment" style="font-size:85%;">— Assignment last updated by [[User:Cmh6798|Cmh6798]] ([[User talk:Cmh6798|talk]]) 02:45, 10 October 2022 (UTC)</span>