Facebook Features 9/11 Conspiracy Theory as 'Trending' (slashdot.org)

Facebook is having a tough time with stories that trend on the social network. The company has been accused of gaming what it shows as "trending" on the site, and sometimes favoring things it showed to people. Not long ago, it fired the human editors who took care of it, but then earlier this month, a fake story about Megyn Kelly. It apologized for the slip, but it has happened again. The Hill reports: Facebook is taking heat yet again for its Trending Topics section after featuring a story from a British tabloid pushing a conspiracy theory that the World Trade Center collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001, because of a "controlled demolition." Facebook users who clicked on the "September 11th Anniversary" trending topic Friday were presented an article titled "September 11: The footage that 'proves bombs were planted in Twin Towers.'"

Comments

Maybe it was a conspiracy

[Anonymous Coward]

After watching the collapse of Building 7 I have my doubts: https://youtu.be/Mamvq7LWqRU

Re:How to hide inconventient ideas

[dryeo]

2 Planes managed to take out 3 buildings, with the third containing much interesting paperwork that conveniently burned up..

Re:How to hide inconventient ideas

[Gavagai80]

I think the more fundamental point for a sane person to consider would be this: no conspiracy would've changed the method used to bring down the buildings. If the CIA (for example) decided to take out the WTC with explosives and blame it on Al-Qaeda, they'd obviously accuse Al-Qaeda of planting the explosives by sending their operatives into the building or getting them jobs as window washers or whatever. All goals would be accomplished by that, and with less economic collateral damage too since it wouldn't have temporarily depressed plane travel. The only reason for the CIA to use hijacked airplanes would be if they felt that was the most effective way to take down the buildings, in which case they would've gone ahead and done it that way.

Whether it's a conspiracy has nothing to do with the method selected to destroy the buildings. Heck, if one doubts how they were destroyed, one could much more plausibly argue that it was Al-Qaeda who rigged explosives and then pretended the planes did it because they wanted to scare people into thinking they could blow up buildings with just airplanes.