Newsgroups as News Sources
by Charles Rando

   There are hundreds of thousands of newsgroups across the World Wide Web.  On these servers, people can post messages ranging from their opinion on politics to Britney Spears.  On most days, the only similarity between messages in these various groups are the spam, junk mail, they receive—but September 11 was a different story.

   Search almost any newsgroup for messages posted on September 11 and one will invariably find a slew of messages relating to the terrorist attacks.  These included:

• the latest news and rumors

• discussions on who might be responsible

• discussions on technical matters

News as it happened

   Threads focusing on news and rumors could be found on almost any newsgroup.  Many began with the news of the first plane  hitting the World Trade Center, and then readers continued the thread with subsequent news—the second plane, the Pentagon, the collapse of the towers.  False news stories, such as the reported  car bomb that exploded outside the State Department, also found their way onto these threads, but were refuted by posters just as quickly as they were refuted by the media.

Thread of posts reacting to hijacking of Washington plane.

Thread of posts regarding rumors of more planes being hijacked.

Who's responsible?

   Almost immediately, threads were started on the topic of who could be responsible for the terrorist attacks.  While these discussions often involved more rumor than fact, some messages were well-written and intelligent.  Again, rumors were either quickly refuted by more informed posters, and evidence was asked for in regards to rumors that were not immediately disproved.  One poster remarked that the Palestinian Liberation Organization had claimed responsibility for the attacks, only to be rebuffed less than an hour later by another poster.

A thread discussing who may be responsible for the attacks.

A thread on a rumor that the PLO claimed responsibility for the attack.

A thread on a rumor that Bin Laden was responsible for the attacks.

 A thread on a rumor that Bin Laden had been captured.

Technical discussions

   On newsgroups that were more geared towards certain subjects, technical discussions were started by the group members.  In many aviation newsgroups, discussions ranged from the construct of 757s to how difficult it would be to fly a plane into a building.  Some threads focused on the impact of a 757 crashing into a skyscraper, and examined what caused the twin towers to collapse.  While many newspapers ran sidebar stories on the technical aspects of the disaster, members of these newsgroups had been discussing those ideas from the very first day.

A post on how easy it would be to bypass airport security.

A thread on why the towers collapsed.

 A thread discussing fuel amounts on airplanes.

A thread discussing how the terrorists gained control of the planes.

What does it mean?

   The Internet was envisioned as a tool for the public to obtain information on various subjects, and Internet newsgroups show this idea in practice.  The groups served to connect people from all around the world and allow them to share news, ideas and their thoughts.  Members often served as their own watchdogs, asking for verification of a story before it could be believed, suggesting that rumors would find it difficult to flourish under such an environment.  By enabling their members to have discussions and share news and ideas, these newsgroups help add another dimension to the idea of a free press.