False: The 9/11 attack was a hoax as crisis actors were hired to give their account of what happened to news reporters.

By: Ishita Goel
September 14 2022

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Context:

Over 20 years have passed since the 9/11 attacks. On September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners and killed thousands of Americans. After the attack, numerous people claimed the attacks were a hoax. On recent Facebook post rehashes a version of this claim. The user shared an old news clip from Fox News, where a reporter near the WTC interviews a survivor identified as Mark Walsh, who witnessed the crash. The video was captioned, "What does a crisis actor sound like?"…" The same video can be seen on websites like Bichute, Reddit, and other alt-tech platforms. The captions on the video imply that Walsh was an actor and therefore that the attack was fake. 

In fact:

The reporter featured in the clip is Fox News reporter Rick Leventhal, who was in Manhattan on 9/11, covering the aftermath of the attack. A ten-minute clip from Fox News Video titled "Remembering 9/11: Incredible Raw Video Shows Rick Leventhal Interviewing Survivors at Ground Zero as orth Tower Collapses" shows Leventhal interviewing multiple passersby, speaking about their experiences as the towers were collapsing. Although this footage does not include the interview with Walsh, it's clear that Leventhal interviewed many eyewitnesses in the aftermath of the catastrophe. 

There were numerous eyewitness accounts of the events of 9/11. The 9/11 Memorial and Museum is a website that honors the lives lost and remembers those who played roles in the aftermath of the attacks. One can learn about the attack through various "commemoration, exhibitions, and educational programs. They have oral histories interviews recorded "with responders, survivors, 9/11 family members, and others deeply affected by the attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania."

The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States is the official report of the events leading up to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The report includes all the details entailing the attack, including pre and aftermath. Further, archives show the live feeds of the attack by news outlets such as CNN and CBS News. Recorded testimonies by survivors describing the attack are available to the public. 

There have however been people who lied about being eyewitnesses. The Independent noted in an article published on September 11, 2022, that there fake stories from people who pretended to be the survivors of the 9/11 attack. 

"From exaggerations to outright fabrications, the 9/11 terror attacks attracted countless fake tales of heroism and survival, of narrow escapes and lost loved ones. While some sought proximity to the attacks for sympathy or attention, others appeared to become so attached to these false narratives that they came to believe their own lies," it read. There is no indication however that any of Leventhal’s interview subjects that day were lying. 

Numerous false theories have been circulating about the 9/11 attack, such as the attack was a hologram created using Project Blue Beam technology, that no planes were involved, and that actually the U.S. government was responsible for the attacks. For decades, multiple organizations have debunked various fake reports and accusations surrounding the 9/11 attack. 

The verdict:

Thousands of eyewitnesses who were in Manhattan and New York City on September 11 have provided unofficial and official testimony to a number of sources talking about their experiences with the attack. There is no evidence that crisis actors were involved. We have marked this claim as false.