The Conspiracy Files | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Original release | |
Network | BBC Two |
Release | 2006 – 2018 |
The Conspiracy Files is a British documentary television series broadcast on BBC Two, investigating various modern-day conspiracy theories. So far in two series and 13 programmes, the show has investigated the theories surrounding the September 11 attacks (twice), the Pan Am Flight 103 bomb, the Oklahoma City bombing, the 7 July 2005 London bombings, the deaths of David Kelly and Diana, Princess of Wales, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, and those perpetrated by Donald Trump. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones makes appearances in two episodes about 9/11 conspiracy theories. [1] [2]
Title | Subject | Broadcast | Page |
---|---|---|---|
David Kelly | Theories about the death (later investigated by the Hutton Inquiry) of British UN weapons inspector David Kelly, who committed suicide shortly after being revealed as the source of leaks to BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan about the accuracy of the 'September Dossier', a British Government intelligence report used as justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq | 25 February 2006 | |
How Diana Died | Theories about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the British Royal who died in a car crash in Paris, France, having been divorced from the future King and allegedly planning to marry Dodi Fayed, also killed in the crash | 10 December 2006 [3] | |
9/11 | Theories about the September 11 attacks (9/11) in which terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, and The Pentagon in Virginia with commercial planes, and brought down United Airlines Flight 93 in a further attempted attack | 18 February 2007 | |
Oklahoma Bomb | Theories about the Oklahoma City bombing, in which Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols blew up a government building in Oklahoma City using a truck bomb, and for which McVeigh was executed and Nichols given multiple life sentences | 4 March 2007 | |
9/11 - The Third Tower | Theories about the collapse of 7 World Trade Center, which was the third tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan to collapse after the September 11 attacks (9/11), in which the tower collapsed after a fire, some hours after the main Twin Towers had collapsed | 6 July 2008 [4] | |
Lockerbie | Theories about the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which crashed in Lockerbie, Scotland on a flight from London Heathrow to New York JFK after a bomb was planted in the cargo hold, which later saw the implication and conviction of a Libyan intelligence agent, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi | 31 August 2008 [5] | |
7/7 | Theories about the 7 July 2005 London bombings (7/7), in which four British Muslims carried out suicide bomb attacks on three London Underground trains and a Stagecoach London bus | 30 June 2009 [6] | |
Osama Bin Laden - Dead or Alive? | Examining what has happened to the world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden. Despite one of the biggest manhunts in history, Osama Bin Laden remains as elusive as ever. | 9 January 2010 [7] | |
9/11 Ten years on | Ten years after the September 11 attacks (9/11) in which terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, and The Pentagon in Virginia with commercial planes, and brought down United Airlines Flight 93, the programmes ask why the conspiracy Theories about the attacks still remain. | 28 August 2011 | |
Who Shot Down MH17? | 3 May 2016 | ||
The Trump Dossier | 3 November 2016 | ||
Murder in Washington | 1 April 2018 |
Alexander Emerick Jones is an American far-right, alt-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts The Alex Jones Show from Austin, Texas, which previously the Genesis Communications Network broadcast across the United States via syndicated and internet radio. Jones's website, InfoWars, promotes conspiracy theories and fake news, as do his other websites, NewsWars and PrisonPlanet. Jones has provided a platform and support for white nationalists, giving Nick Fuentes a platform on his website, Banned.Video, as well as providing an "entry point" to their ideology. In 2023, leaked texts from Jones's phone revealed that he created the website National File.
There are various conspiracy theories that attribute the preparation and execution of the September 11 attacks against the United States to parties other than, or in addition to, al-Qaeda. These include the theory that high-level government officials had advance knowledge of the attacks. Government investigations and independent reviews have rejected these theories. Proponents of these theories assert that there are inconsistencies in the commonly accepted version, or that there exists evidence that was ignored, concealed, or overlooked.
The 9/11 truth movement encompasses a disparate group of adherents to a set of overlapping conspiracy theories that dispute the general consensus of the September 11 attacks that a group of Al-Qaeda terrorists had hijacked four airliners and crashed them into the Pentagon and the original World Trade Center Twin Towers, which consequently collapsed. The primary focus is on missed information that adherents allege is not adequately explained in the official National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reports, such as the collapse of 7 World Trade Center. They suggest a cover-up and, at the least, complicity by insiders.
Pan Am Flight 103 conspiracy theories suggest a number of possible explanations for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988. Some of the theories preceded the official investigation by Scottish police and the FBI; others arose from different interpretation of evidence presented at Libyan agent Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's 2000–2001 trial; yet others have been developed independently by individuals and organisations outside the official investigation.
Loose Change is a series of films released between 2005 and 2009 that argue in favor of certain conspiracy theories relating to the September 11 attacks. The films were written and directed by Dylan Avery and produced by Korey Rowe, Jason Bermas, and Matthew Brown.
InfoWars is an American far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website owned by Alex Jones. It was founded in 1999, and operates under Free Speech Systems LLC.
Pan Am Flight 103 (PA103/PAA103) was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by Clipper Maid of the Seas, a Boeing 747 registered N739PA. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, while the aircraft was in flight over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, it was destroyed by a bomb, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew in what became known as the Lockerbie bombing. Large sections of the aircraft crashed in a residential street in Lockerbie, killing 11 residents. With a total of 270 fatalities, it is the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the United Kingdom.
Some conspiracy theories contend that the collapse of the World Trade Center was not solely caused by the airliner crash damage that occurred as part of the September 11 attacks, and the resulting fire damage, but by explosives installed in the buildings in advance. Controlled demolition theories make up a major component of 9/11 conspiracy theories.
Conspiracy? is a documentary television series that was created and originally aired on The History Channel that examines recent historical events from the perspective of conspiracy theory.
Operation Paget was the British Metropolitan Police inquiry established in 2004 to investigate the conspiracy theories about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in a car crash in Paris in 1997. The inquiry's first report with the findings of the criminal investigation was published in 2006. The inquiry was wound up following the conclusion of the British inquest in 2008, in which a jury delivered its verdict of an "unlawful killing" due to the "gross negligence" of both the driver of Diana's car and the pursuing paparazzi.
TWA Flight 800 conspiracy theories are alternative explanations of the crash of Trans World Airlines Flight 800 in 1996. The NTSB found that the probable cause of the crash of TWA Flight 800 was an explosion of flammable fuel/air vapors in a fuel tank, most likely from a short circuit. Conspiracy theories claim that the crash was due to a U.S. Navy missile test gone awry, a terrorist missile strike, or an on-board bomb. In 2013, a documentary alleging that the investigation into the crash was a cover-up made news headlines with statements from six members of the original investigation team, now retired, who also filed a petition to reopen the probe.
There are many conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 31 August 1997. Official investigations in both Britain and France found that Diana died in a manner consistent with media reports following the fatal car crash in Paris. In 1999, a French investigation concluded that Diana died as the result of a crash. The French investigator, Judge Hervé Stephan, concluded that the paparazzi were some distance from the Mercedes S280 when it crashed and were not responsible for manslaughter. After hearing evidence at the British inquest, a jury in 2008 returned a verdict of "unlawful killing" by driver Henri Paul and the paparazzi pursuing the car. The jury's verdict also stated: "In addition, the death of the deceased was caused or contributed to by the fact that the deceased were not wearing a seat belt and by the fact that the Mercedes struck the pillar in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel rather than colliding with something else."
Alternative theories have been proposed regarding the Oklahoma City bombing. These theories reject all, or part of, the official government report. Some of these theories focus on the possibility of additional co-conspirators that were never indicted or additional explosives planted inside the Murrah Federal building. Other theories allege that government employees and officials, including US President Bill Clinton, knew of the impending bombing and intentionally failed to act on that knowledge. Further theories allege that the bombing was perpetrated by government forces to frame and stigmatize the militia movement, which had grown following the controversial federal handlings of the Ruby Ridge and Waco incidents, and regain public support. Government investigations have been opened at various times to look into the theories.
Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, Inc. (AE911Truth) is an American non-profit organization promoting the conspiracy theory that the World Trade Center was destroyed in a controlled demolition, disputing accepted conclusions around the September 11 attacks, including the 9/11 Commission Report, as well as FEMA's "WTC Building Performance Study" (2002). Their claims and theories lack support among the relevant professional communities.
7/7 Ripple Effect is a 57-minute homemade film about 7 July 2005 London bombings, produced and narrated by John Hill. The film disputes the official account of events, a terrorist attack on public transport in Central London, by four suicide bombers later named as Hasib Hussain, Germaine Lindsay, Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammad Sidique Khan. Hill released the film under the pseudonym "Muad'Dib", the name of a character from the Dune books.
Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura is an American television series hosted by Jesse Ventura and broadcast on truTV. It ran for three seasons from 2009 to 2012.
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut. The perpetrator, Adam Lanza, fatally shot his mother before murdering 20 students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and later committed suicide. A number of fringe figures have promoted conspiracy theories that doubt or dispute what occurred at Sandy Hook. Various conspiracy theorists have claimed, for example, that the massacre was actually orchestrated by the U.S. government as part of an elaborate plot to promote stricter gun control laws.
Special Branch was a unit in the Metropolitan Police in London, formed as a counter-terrorism unit in 1883 and merged with another unit to form Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) in 2006. It maintained contact with the Security Service (MI5) and had responsibility for, among other things, personal protection of (non-royal) VIPs and performing the role of examining officer at designated ports and airports, as prescribed by the Terrorism Act 2000.