Opinion polls about 9/11 conspiracy theories

Who do you think was behind the 9/11 attacks? (World Average, 2008)

Al-Qaeda (46%)

U.S. govt. (25%)

Israel (7%)

Other (15%)

Don't Know (7%)

Since theSeptember 11 attacks,doubts have been raised about the mainstream account of events. There have been a number of9/11 conspiracy theorieswith some suggesting thatIsraelwas involved in the attacks and that members of theU.S. governmentmay have deliberately covered-up and falsified events, in order to hide negligence, complicity, or even having been the perpetrator of the attacks.

A number of9/11 opinion pollshave been carried out to assess the prevalence of various opinions and views about questions related to the attacks, both in theUnited Statesand in other countries.

The size, form and quality of polls naturally vary considerably, as does the range and specificity of questions asked. They range from large, formal polls such as those conducted byZogby International,to smaller, informal polls of limited scope, such as internet polls. The questions here relate specifically to doubts about the mainstream account, and in all cases were part of a group of questions dealing with wider issues, usually of a political nature.

World opinion polls

A poll taken byWorldPublicOpinion.org,a collaborative project of research centers in various countries managed by theProgram on International Policy Attitudesat theUniversity of Maryland, College Park,polled 16,063 people in 17 nations outside of the United States during the summer of 2008. They found that majorities in only 9 of the 17 countries believeal-Qaedacarried out the attacks.

45 percent of those surveyed said al-Qaeda was responsible, 15 percent said the U.S. government, 7 percent saidIsraeland 7 percent said some other perpetrator. One in four people said they did not know who was behind the attacks.

The summary of the poll noted that "Though people with greater education generally have greater exposure to news, those with greater education are only slightly more likely to attribute 9/11 to al Qaeda."Steven Kull,director ofWorldPublicOpinion.org,commented "It does not appear that these beliefs can simply be attributed to a lack of exposure to information."Of those who said the United States was the perpetrator, Kull says many believe it was an attempt to justify an impendingU.S. invasion of Iraq.

National opinion polls

United States

Zogby International

The polls that have received the most widespread media attention are those conducted by Zogby International. The Zogby polls have been sponsored by organizations within the9/11 Truth Movementincluding 911truth.org.

The first one was conducted in late August 2004 on 808 randomly selected residents ofNew York State.It found that 49 percent ofNew York Cityresidents and 41 percent of New York state citizens believe individuals within the U.S. government "knew in advance that attacks were planned on or around September 11, 2001, and that they consciously failed to act."The margin of error for this poll was 3.5 percent.

The second major Zogby poll on 9/11 was conducted in May 2006. It was a telephone interview of 1,200 randomly selected adults from across the United States, consisting of 81 questions, with a 2.9 percent margin of error.Some of the questions asked include the following:

"Some people believe that the US government and its 9/11 Commission concealed or refused to investigate critical evidence that contradicts their official explanation of the September 11th attacks, saying there has been a cover-up. Others say that the 9/11 Commission was a bi-partisan group of honest and well-respected people and that there is no reason they would want to cover-up anything. Who are you more likely to agree with?"

• Responses: 48% No Cover-up / 42% Cover-up / 10% Not sure

"World Trade Center Building 7 is the 47-story skyscraper that was not hit by any planes during the September 11th attacks, but still totally collapsed later the same day. This collapse was not investigated by the 9/11 Commission. Are you aware of this skyscraper's collapse, and if so do you believe that the Commission should have also investigated it? Or do you believe that the Commission was right to only investigate the collapse of the buildings which were directly hit by airplanes?"

• Responses: 43% Not Aware / 38% Aware - should have investigated it / 14% Aware - right not to investigate it / 5% Not Sure

"Some people say that so many unanswered questions about 9/11 remain that Congress or an International Tribunal should re-investigate the attacks, including whether any US government officials consciously allowed or helped facilitate their success. Other people say the 9/11 attacks were thoroughly investigated and that any speculation about US government involvement is nonsense. Who are you more likely to agree with?"

• Responses: 47% Attacks were thoroughly investigated / 45% Reinvestigate the attacks / 8% Not Sure

The third major Zogby poll regarding 9/11 was conducted in August 2007. It was a telephone interview with a target of 1,000 interviews with randomly selected adults from across the United States, consisting of 71 questions, with a 3.1 percent margin of error.

The results of the 2007 August poll indicate that 51 percent ofAmericanswant theUnited States Congressto probe PresidentGeorge W. Bushand Vice PresidentDick Cheneyregarding the 9/11 attacks and over 30 percent of those polled seek immediateimpeachment.While only 32 percent seek immediate impeachment of Bush and/or Cheney based on their personal knowledge, many citizens appear eager for clear exposure of the facts.

In addition, the poll also found that two-thirds (67 percent) of Americans say the9/11 Commissionshould have investigated the collapse ofWorld Trade Center Building 7.Only 4.8 percent of the respondents agreed that members of the U.S. government "actively planned or assisted some aspects of the attack."

Newsweekmagazine polls

TheNewsweekmagazine poll "What America Knows," conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, regularly asks American citizens a wide range of questions relating to world events both past and present, and a number of more trivial questions of general knowledge.On five occasions the following question has been asked:

"Do you think Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq was directly involved in planning, financing, or carrying out the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001?"

• September 2003 responses: 47% Yes, 37% No, 16% not sure.
• January 2004 responses: 49% Yes, 39% No, 12% not sure.
• September 2004 responses: 42% Yes, 44% No, 14% not sure.
• October 2004 responses: 36% Yes, 51% No, 13% not sure.
• June 2007 responses: 41% Yes, 50% No, 9% not sure.

The New York Times/ CBS News polls

The first 9/11 poll carried out byThe New York TimesandCBS Newswas conducted in May 2002. The same 9/11-related question was asked again in April 2004 and October 2006. The 2002 and 2006 polls were apparently published for the first time not by the NYT or CBS, but by polling researcherAngus Reid Public Opinion.The 2004 NYT/CBS poll is available at nytimes (Question 77).

The 2004 poll was conducted by telephone with 1,042 adults nationwide in the United States, with a 3 percent margin of error.The 2006 poll was conducted by telephone on 983 randomly selected citizens of the United States, with a 4 percent margin of error.One of the questions was the following:

"When it comes to what they knew prior to September 11th, 2001, about possible terrorist attacks against the United States, do you think members of the Bush Administration are telling the truth, are mostly telling the truth but hiding something, or are they mostly lying?"

• May 2002 responses: 21% said "telling the truth", 65% said they are "mostly telling the truth but hiding something", 8% said they are "mostly lying", 6% not sure.
• 3/30–4/1/04 CBS 24% said "telling the truth", 58% said they are "mostly telling the truth but hiding something", 14% said they are "mostly lying", 4% not sure.
• 4/8/04 CBS 21% said "telling the truth", 66% said they are "mostly telling the truth but hiding something", 10% said they are "mostly lying", 4% not sure.
• 4/23–27/04 24% said "telling the truth", 56% said they are "mostly telling the truth but hiding something", 16% said they are "mostly lying", 4% not sure.
• Oct 2006 responses: 16% said "telling the truth", 53% said they are "mostly telling the truth but hiding something", 28% said they are "mostly lying", 3% not sure.

CBS News andThe New York Timeshave conducted a number of polls on theIraq Warthat have included the question:

"Was Saddam personally involved in 9/11?"

• April 2003 responses: 53% said Yes, 38% said No.
• October 2005 responses: 33% said Yes, 55% said No.
• September 2006 responses: 31% said Yes, 57% said No.
• September 2007 responses: 33% said Yes, 58% said No.

Scripps Howard polls

A poll from July 2006, sponsored byScripps Howardand conducted byOhio University,surveyed 1,010 randomly selected citizens of the United States, with a margin of error of 4 percent.The survey found that 36 percent thought it somewhat or very likely that U.S. officials either participated in the attacks or took no action to stop thembecause they wanted the United States to go to war in the Middle East.It made some statements relating to some of the9/11 conspiracy theoriesand asked respondents to say whether they thought that the statements were likely to be true.

Federal officials either assisted in the 9/11 attacks or took no action to prevent them because they wanted the United States to go to war in the Middle East.

• 59% "not likely"
• 20% "somewhat likely"
• 16% "very likely"

The collapse of the twin towers in New York was aided by explosives secretly planted in the two buildings.

• 77% "unlikely"
• 10% "somewhat likely"
• 6% "very likely"

The Pentagon was struck by a military cruise missile in 2001 rather than by an airliner captured by terrorists.

• 80% "not likely"
• 6% "somewhat likely"
• 6% "very likely"

In November 2007, Scripps Howard surveyed 811 Americans about their beliefs in several conspiracy theories and asked this question:

How about that some people in the federal government had specific warnings of the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington, but chose to ignore those warnings. Is this very likely, somewhat likely or unlikely?

• 32% "Very Likely"
• 30% "Somewhat Likely"
• 30% "Unlikely"
• 8% "Don't Know/Other"

Other United States polls

Rasmussen Reportspublished the results of their poll May 4, 2007. According to their press release, "Overall, 22% of all voters believe the President knew about the attacks in advance. A slightly larger number, 29%, believe the CIA knew about the attacks in advance. White Americans are less likely than others to believe that either the President or the CIA knew about the attacks in advance. Young Americans are more likely than their elders to believe the President or the CIA knew about the attacks in advance.", "Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure." and "Republicans reject that view and, by a 7-to-1 margin, say the President did not know in advance about the attacks. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 18% believe the President knew and 57% take the opposite view."

A poll reported inThe Washington Postin September 2003 found that nearly 70 percent of respondents believedSaddam Husseinwas probably personally involved in the attacks.

In May 2007 theNew York Postpublished results of aPew Research Centerpoll of more than 1,000American Muslims.It found that 40 percent agreed that "Arabs carried out the 9/11 attacks," while 28 percent disagreed. Of the 28 percent that disagreed, a quarter (7 percent) believe that the U.S. government is responsible.

In September 2009, a National Obama Approval Poll, byPublic Policy Polling,found that 27 percent of respondents who identified themselves as Liberals, and 10 percent as Conservatives, responded "yes" to the question, "Do you think President Bush intentionally allowed the 9/11 attacks to take place because he wanted the United States to go to war in the Middle East?"

A March 2010 poll conducted by theAngus Reid Public Opinionorganization found that 15 percent of respondents found theories that the World Trade Center was brought down by acontrolled demolitionto be credible. Anywhere between 6 percent and 15 percent of respondents found credibility in claims thatUnited Airlines Flight 93was shot down, that no airplanes hit the Pentagon or the World Trade Center.

Canada

In September 2006, anIpsos-Reidpoll found that 22 percent ofCanadiansbelieve "the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, had nothing to do withOsama bin Ladenand were actually a plot by influential Americans. "

A September 2008Angus Reidpoll showed that 39 percent of respondents either disagree or are unsure that al-Qaeda carried out the attacks. About a third of those surveyed believed the U.S. government allowed the attacks to happen and 16 percent believe the U.S. government made the attacks happen.

Mexico

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 33 percent of respondents inMexicobelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 30 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 1 percent said Israel and 18 percent named another country. 19 percent said they did not know.

Europe

France

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 63 percent of respondents inFrancebelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 8 percent said the U.S. government were responsible and 7 percent named another country. 23 percent said they did not know.

Germany

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 64 percent of respondents inGermanybelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 23 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 1 percent said Israel and 2 percent named another country. 9 percent said they did not know.

A representative poll conducted in 2003 by theForsa Institutefor the German newspaperDie Zeitfound that 31 percent of the Germans under 30 years of age believe that the U.S. government commissioned the attacks.

In its January 2011 issue, the German magazineWelt der Wunderpublished the results of a poll conducted by the Emnid Institute on 1,005 respondents. The poll indicated that almost 90 percent of the Germans are convinced that the government of the United States is not telling the whole truth about the September 11 attacks.

Italy

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 56 percent of respondents inItalybelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 15 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 1 percent said Israel and 7 percent named another country. 21 percent said they did not know.

Russia

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 57 percent of respondents inRussiabelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 15 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 2 percent said Israel and 6 percent named another country. 19 percent said they did not know.

Sweden

According to a poll conducted in September 2009 by Novus Opinion on behalf of the television channelTV4,70 percent of theSwedesbelieve al-Qaeda was responsible for the attack, while 7 percent said they didn't believe it. Among young people (18-29) the numbers were 58 percent and 15 percent. Asked if they believe the theory represented in the filmLoose Changethat the U.S. government led by President George W. Bush was involved in the attacks, 64 percent of the public said no versus 8 percent yes, while the numbers for young adults were 51 percent versus 18 percent.

One thousand adults were polled, but in order to get a large number of people under 30 years, additional interviews were made. The total number of young people were 758.

Turkey

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 39 percent of respondents inTurkeybelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 36 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 3 percent said Israel and 1 percent named another country. 21 percent said they did not know.

Ukraine

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 42 percent of respondents inUkrainebelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 15 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 1 percent said Israel and 5 percent named another country. 39 percent said they did not know.

United Kingdom

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 57 percent of respondents in theUnited Kingdombelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 5 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 1 percent said Israel and 12 percent named another country. 26 percent said they did not know.

A 2011 poll carried out byGfK NOPfor theBBCfound that 14 percent ofBritonsand 15 percent of Americans questioned believe the U.S. government was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. 1 in 4 of the 16- to 24-year-olds questioned held this belief.

Asia

Azerbaijan

AWorldPublicOpinion.orgpoll conducted in between July and September 2008 found that 69 percent of respondents inAzerbaijanbelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 5 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 6 percent said Israel and 7 percent named another country. 13 percent said they did not know.

People's Republic of China

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 32 percent of respondents inChinabelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 9 percent said the U.S. government were responsible and 3 percent named another country. 56 percent said they did not know.

Taiwan

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 53 percent of respondents inTaiwanbelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 4 percent said the U.S. government were responsible and 10 percent named another country. 34 percent said they did not know.

India

A poll conducted byCNN-IBNin August 2007 found that 2 out of 5 of those polled inIndiabelieve that al-Qaeda is responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

Indonesia

AWorldPublicOpinion.orgpoll conducted in January 2007 found that 26 percent of respondents inIndonesiabelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 17 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 3 percent said Israel and 12 percent named another country. 43 percent said they did not know.

AWorldPublicOpinion.orgpoll conducted between July and September 2008 found that 30 percent of respondents in Indonesia believe al-Qaeda were responsible. 11 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 3 percent said Israel and 3 percent named another country. 54 percent said they did not know.

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 23 percent of respondents in Indonesia believe al-Qaeda were responsible. 14 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 5 percent said Israel and 1 percent named another country. 57 percent said they did not know.

Pakistan

AWorldPublicOpinion.orgpoll conducted in February 2007 found that 2 percent of respondents inPakistanbelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 27 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 7 percent said Israel and 1 percent named another country. 63 percent said they did not know.

AWorldPublicOpinion.orgpoll conducted between July and September 2008 found that 4 percent of respondents in Pakistan believe al-Qaeda were responsible. 19 percent said the U.S. government were responsible and 4 percent said Israel. 72 percent said they did not know.

A poll conducted by CNN-IBN in August 2007 found that only 1 in 20 of those polled inPakistanbelieve that al-Qaeda is responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

South Korea

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 51 percent of respondents inSouth Koreabelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 17 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 1 percent said Israel and 9 percent named another country. 22 percent said they did not know.

Africa and the Middle East

Egypt

AWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted in February 2007 found that 28 percent of respondents inEgyptbelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 9 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 29 percent said Israel and 5 percent named another country. 29 percent said they did not know.

AWorldPublicOpinion.orgpoll conducted between July and September 2008 found that 23 percent of respondents in Egypt believe al-Qaeda were responsible. 13 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 17 percent said Israel and 1 percent named another country. 46 percent said they did not know.

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 16 percent of respondents in Egypt believe al-Qaeda were responsible. 12 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 43 percent said Israel and 11 percent named another country. 18 percent said they did not know.

Jordan

AWorldPublicOpinion.orgpoll conducted between July and September 2008 found that 11 percent of respondents inJordanbelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 17 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 31 percent said Israel and 4 percent named another country. 36 percent said they did not know.

Kenya

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 77 percent of respondents inKenyabelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 4 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 3 percent said Israel and 3 percent named another country. 12 percent said they did not know.

Morocco

AWorldPublicOpinion.orgpoll conducted in December 2006 found that 35 percent of respondents inMoroccobelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 16 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 15 percent said Israel and 7 percent named another country. 28 percent said they did not know.

Nigeria

TheWorldPublicOpinion.orgopinion poll conducted during the summer of 2008 found that 71 percent of respondents inNigeriabelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 7 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 2 percent said Israel and 6 percent named another country. 14 percent said they did not know.

AWorldPublicOpinion.orgpoll conducted in Nigeria between July and September 2008 that included onlyMusliminterviewees found that 64 percent of the respondents believed al-Qaeda were responsible. 9 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 2 percent said Israel, and 7 percent named another country. 19 percent said they did not know.

Palestinian territories

AWorldPublicOpinion.orgpoll conducted between July and September 2008 found that 42 percent of respondents in thePalestinian territoriesbelieve al-Qaeda were responsible. 27 percent said the U.S. government were responsible, 19 percent said Israel and 9 percent named another country. 3 percent said they did not know.

See also

• September 11 attacks
• 9/11 Truth movement
• 9/11 conspiracy theories
• Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda link allegations
• Zogby International