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.

Veitch says he became interested in the 9/11 conspiracy while in his mid-20’s working as a financial advisor who had “way too much time” on his hands. He eventually began watching and seeking out documentaries by Alex Jones, David Icke and other “more professional, less nutty” ones that purported to have scientific evidence confirming the conspiracy narrative. He eventually rose through the ranks of the 9/11 Truth community through his youtube videos and films.

He says part of what made him change his mind, was that that he was focused on finding the truth. And when the evidence contradicted his long held beliefs, he had to accept fact over the grand conspiracy.

“[B]efore I went on the 9/11 Conspiracy Road Trip, I had kind of propagandized myself internally enough to believe it was, you know, an inside job by some sort of, I don’t know, Zionist, evil reptilian, Illuminati.” He says, “It’s like playing Dungeons and Dragons in your head in real life.”

And while the other participants of the Road Trip documentary remain convinced, it is at least good to know that logic, reason, and applying default skepticism to the 9/11 Conspiracy, can still persuade even one or two of the converted.

“[The] hatred I got, ‘flip-flop’, ‘fucking shill’, you know, ‘weak minded’, that I’m easily led ... “ explains Veitch, “Whereas, the way I saw it was like: Young man is presented with scientific evidence, which he thinks about logically and rationally. Then he decides to follow the scientific evidence.”

Powers will be publishing the second part of his interview with Veitch in the near future. 

The United States Of Conspiracy: 12 of the Weirder Things Americans Still Believe Infographic -Source: Eric Phillips