America Marks 9/11 Anniversary

What happened

The facts the coverage agrees on, drawn from reporting across the political spectrum. Where the sides dispute something, it's attributed.

On the anniversary observances, the CIA released several dozen declassified presidential briefing documents on pre-9/11 intelligence. They describe tracking of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, including movements, support networks, financing and possible threats to U.S. targets. CIA Director John Ratcliffe called it “an act of exceptional transparency” and the agency’s largest such release. A national remembrance tour centered on a World Trade Center steel beam is also traveling about 10,500 miles to end at Ground Zero. Bill Maher criticized limits on calling 9/11 “terrorism.”

Both sides

How left-leaning and right-leaning outlets told this story, in their own coverage. Outlet names link to the article we drew from.

From the left

Left-leaning coverage widened the legacy debate from intelligence to war costs, rights and affected communities. HuffPost focused on what the newly released briefings reveal about preattack intelligence, including reports on bin Laden and al-Qaida and a source saying planning had lasted two years. PBS NewsHour tied the legacy to Afghanistan, where the Taliban harbored planners and a long war killed hundreds of thousands, mostly civilians. Democracy Now! stressed effects on democratic rights, while In These Times highlighted continued hateful rhetoric toward Muslim and Arab communities.

From the right

Right-leaning coverage centered on preserving blunt moral language about 9/11. The New York Post said Bill Maher faulted media groups for limiting the word “terrorism” and argued the U.S. won the war on terror. The Daily Wire said Maher rejected revisionist narratives and asked why people cannot plainly identify the attackers as the bad guys. The Federalist accused Fairfax County schools of steering teachers away from linking 9/11 to Islamic terrorists.

Coverage•16 articles — 6 left, 1 center, 9 right