Former 9/11 Truther Charlie Veitch on What Convinced Him it Wasn't an Inside Job

In 2011, the BBC went on a mission: to take a minibus load of 9/11 conspiracy theorists on a trip across America in the hopes of convincing members of the troupe with scientific evidence and expert testimony that the terrorist attack was not an "inside job."

The BBC's 9/11 Conspiracy Road Trip

Charlie Veitch, one of five British participants in the documentary-style 9/11 Conspiracy Road Trip, with Irish comedian Andrew Maxwell, was approached by the BBC because of his high profile within the “Truther” community.

However, about three days into filming, something started to happen: Charlie began to change his mind, the only member of the group to do so.

Veitch's story has drawn the interest of skeptics and debunkers who are keen to understand how the he transformed from ardent "truther," to having, with humility, accepted the facts and testimonies he heard during his nine-day ride across America.

“I found my personal truth and you don’t have to agree with me,” Veitch told Maxwell during filming, “but I can’t push propaganda for ideas I no longer believe ... So, I just basically have to take it on the chin and admit I was wrong, be humble about it and just carry on.”

Veitch has since faced a backlash from the very people and community he once identified with and even counted as friends. In a recent interview with Myles Powers, he talked about what led him to change to his mind during filming, as well as how conspiracy theorists reacted to losing one of their more vocal advocates.



“[W]hat I thought when I was in New York on this BBC trip was that to me, the truth was the most important thing. Hence, the “truth” movement, but oh how wrong I was,” says Veitch.

Why Conspiracy Theorists believe in more than one conspiracy

Conspiracy theories tend to run in packs, suggests research published in January by University of Kent psychologists. Perhaps most surprising is the finding that conspiracy theorists often hold beliefs in conspiracies that are mutually incompatible. The study looked at conspiracy theories relating to the deaths of Princess Diana and Osama bin Laden. For example, people who believed that Osama bin Laden was dead, even while videos of him surfaced, were as likely to believe that Osama bin Laden was still alive after his execution under the Obama administration.

Michael Shermer explains:

Conspiracies are a perennial favorite for television producers because there is always a receptive audience. A recent Canadian Broadcasting Corporation documentary that I participated in called Conspiracy Rising, for example, featured theories behind the deaths of JFK and Princess Diana, UFOs, Area 51 and 9/11, as if there were a common thread running throughout. According to radio host and conspiracy monger Alex Jones, also appearing in the film, “The military-industrial complex killed John F. Kennedy” and “I can prove that there’s a private banking cartel setting up a world government because they admit they are” and “No matter how you look at 9/11 there was no Islamic terrorist connection—the hijackers were clearly U.S. government assets who were set up as patsies like Lee Harvey Oswald.”