Conspiracy theories

A significant percentage of Americans are giving at least some credence to conspiracy theories that the federal government either deliberately allowed or even participated in the 9/11 attacks so that it could go to war in the Middle East. This, boiled down, has been the message of hundreds of conspiracy Internet sites in the United States and around the world.

The Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University has studied public anger at government and, from time to time, conspiracy theories for 12 years. The current level of anti-government feelings, spurred largely by unhappiness with the U.S. military action in Iraq, is at the highest level monitored so far.

The survey of 1,010 adult residents of the United States found that 36 percent said it is either "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that "People in the federal government either assisted in the 9/11 attacks or took no action to stop the attacks because they wanted the United States to go to war in the Middle East."

There is an intensely generational nature to this trend, however. A majority (57 percent) of young adults 18 to 24 suspect federal involvement in 9/11. But only 24 percent of people 65 or older ascribe to conspiracy theories.

Education also seems to influence belief in conspiracies. Only 24 percent of people with post-graduate educations believe in a 9/11 conspiracy, compared to 31 percent of college grads, 41 percent of high school grads and 55 percent of people (a very small group) who do not have a high school diploma.