Debunking the debunking of the BBC's debunking of the 9/11 conspiracy theories

It didn't take long. Less than 24 hours after the BBC had transmitted a documentary examining and mostly dismissing the 9/11 Truth conspiracy theories that have surrounded the terrorist attacks on the USA on September 11th 2001 there was already a website set-up specifically to debunk the programme - Debunking the BBC's 9-11 Conspiracy Files

The introduction to the site sets out the aim:

On February 18, 2007, the BBC broadcasted an hour-long episode which it claimed would examine and answer the questions of the 9-11 truth movement. However, both the episode and the written Q&A turned out to be attacks on the skeptics rather than a true investigation. The public was presented with a heavily controlled and edited discussion, which was rigged in favour of the official story. Worse yet, propaganda techniques were used to portray the opponents of the official story unfairly. Techniques included: manipulative camerawork, personal attacks and a show which focussed on only the weakest evidence presented by the opponents of the official story.

The aim of this article is to address the inaccurate rebuttals offered by the BBC, as well as to analyse the propaganda techniques and reiterate the questions that the BBC failed to address.

The site attempts to take apart the BBC's own question and answer page about the programme, and to counter the main points by re-stating the principle strands of the conspiracy theory/theories.

One notable point is that the BBC chose to address the issue of anti-Semitism in the conspiracy theories. The debunking site states that:

BBC attempts to link alternative 9/11 theories to anti-Semitism by overplaying a long discredited rumor implying Jewish favoritism. In fact, while many believe there was Israeli involvement in the 9/11 attacks, few 9/11 skeptics still endorse the rumour of the missing 4000 Jewish employees. The BBC chose to associate conspiracies with baseless anti-Semitic terrorist rumors saying: 'news spread around the world' of a 'Jewish plot' to evacuate the WTC.

However, the Debunking the BBC's 9-11 Conspiracy Files site then goes on to talk about people being warned of the attack from Israeli offices, and of MOSSAD agents being detained on the day itself - which doesn't to me seem to do anything much to distance themselves from what they have just claimed to have been 'baseless' rumours.

Of course, the BBC now lies in the invidious position of being widely accused of having an anti-Israeli bias in their reporting, and of trying to supress a report which might say as much. And of also being the mouthpiece for the neo-cons fronting some kind of fiendish new world order plot that involved the attacks on the World Trade Center. And for good measure the Iranians have recently been blocking the BBC's Persian service internet site, which would seem to make the corporation the enemy of all, and the friend of nobody.

And then there is, of course, the growing conspiracy that surrounds the production of the BBC Conspiracy Files programme itself. According to the "truth" movement's site:

Interestingly, there is a story which claims that there are two versions of the BBC 'documentary' and that one is fair, the other is a hit piece, but that the BBC was pressured to air the hit piece.

Oh well, what would you expect? After all, as one poster pointed out on Digg:

You can't debunk a conspiracy theory, you can only become part of the conspiracy!