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I want to write about the very interesting topic of 'what really happened' on 9/11. How close can I possibly get to real characters and facts without getting sued?

Facts I might include in my work:

  1. Transponder switching of planes over areas with little radar coverage.
  2. Long delays in interceptor flights.
  3. Possible presence of thermite in the Twin Tower rubble dust.

All this would implicitly put blame on somebody. Would that mean I would be sued the hell out of my pants? Is there a way to keep clear of getting sued if you want to write about that fateful day?

The plot of my work does not follow what happened that day. But I need to mention those characters to make it interesting. What should I do?

Goodbye Stack Exchange
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Suggestion - stick to publically acessible facts, and express them as factual only in terms of the characters in your story. Then you are writing fiction using possibilities, and you cannot be sued for that, AFAIK. If so, I am in trouble.

You would only be in trouble legally if you were to present information as factual, and specifically make this blame people or organisations, in a book clearly intended as factual.

Think of Dan Brown. He presented wacky ideas as fact, but in a fictional context. You cannot sue him for defamation or whatever, because his story is purely fictional.

Schroedingers Cat
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