Nation Marks 25th Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks
Left 0%
Center 67%
Right 33%
0 left · 2 center · 1 right
What happened
The United States marked 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which killed 2,753 people in New York and 184 at the Pentagon. This week the New York Police Department added the names of 469 officers who died of illnesses linked to the attacks to its Hall of Heroes at One Police Plaza in Lower Manhattan, alongside a likeness of the Twin Towers. One wall in the hall, about 25 feet long and 40 feet high, remains without names. At the Pentagon, officials highlighted a new memorial and visitor education center honoring those killed there. The 9/11 Memorial in New York continued its birthday flowers program, placing flowers on some names year-round.
Sourcing check · Mostly on the record · 3 articles
1 of 2 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 1 of 2
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: high-ranking police source and NYPD spokesman
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 0 of 2
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: None cited.
- Credits another outlet 0 of 2
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 1 of 2
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this. Here: e.g. “a high-ranking police source”
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 12, 15:26 UTC by New York Post, naming its source.
- Not counted 1
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK.
Only right-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days;
New York Times reported it on 2026-09-11.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Right-leaning coverage is marking the anniversary through deaths that arrived years later, not only those from the day of the attacks. The NYPD this week added to its Hall of Heroes the names of officers who died of 9/11-related illnesses. Cancer deaths among first responders and nearby residents are reported as now exceeding the original attack toll. Left-leaning coverage has not reported those additions or that continuing count, so a reader of that side would miss the new inscriptions and the larger post-attack death toll.
The warning leads the story; the official denial does not. Right-leaning coverage in the New York Post opens on a blank wall as a sign more deaths are coming, then records a spokesman saying there are "no plans" to use it and that extra spaces already exist on the new memorial.
If the department already has extra spaces, how many more 9/11-illness deaths does the NYPD itself project?
Bottom line
This week the New York Post is the outlet that told the anniversary as 469 NYPD names added for 9/11 illnesses; left-leaning coverage carried none of that Hall of Heroes ceremony.
The receipts — 3 facts one side's coverage lacks
- A high-ranking police source who helped with Ground Zero recovery said 9/11 deaths have not stopped and seem to be increasing
- An NYPD spokesman said there are no plans to use the blank wall and that extra spaces exist on the new memorial wall
- The Wall of Honor features nearly 1,000 names of officers who died in the line of duty dating back to 1849
The Right View
The New York Post framed a remaining blank wall in the NYPD Hall of Heroes as a grim sign that more 9/11-related deaths are coming. It reported that 469 officers who died of illnesses linked to the attacks were added to the wall Wednesday, that the Wall of Honor already holds nearly 1,000 names of officers killed in the line of duty since 1849, and that 60 NYPD members who died of COVID-19 were added in April. A high-ranking police source who worked Ground Zero recovery told the Post that 9/11 deaths have not stopped and appear to be increasing, and that more space is needed. The Post also reported that 5,892 first responders and people who lived or worked near Ground Zero have died of cancer tied to toxic air in the 25 years since the attacks—more than double those killed on the day itself. An NYPD spokesman said there are no plans to use the blank wall and that extra spaces remain on the new memorial wall. CBS News covered other anniversary commemorations: a fire chief who responded to the Pentagon attack explaining how a new memorial will educate visitors, and the 9/11 Memorial’s practice of placing flowers on names through its birthday flowers program.
Our Take (balanced)
The Hall of Heroes naming is substantive and checkable: a named agency added a specific count of 469 officers to a public memorial at One Police Plaza, and an on-the-record NYPD spokesman said there are extra spaces on that wall and no plans to use the blank wall. The Post’s figure of 5,892 cancer deaths among first responders and nearby residents is a concrete, testable claim that is not independently documented in the materials here. The claim that deaths are increasing and that the blank wall will be needed comes from an unnamed source and is contradicted by the department’s stated position. Center outlets have reported other 25th-anniversary commemorations (Pentagon memorial, birthday flowers) but not this Hall of Heroes development; no left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for World Trade Center Health Program or other official tallies of 9/11-related deaths, any written NYPD statement on Hall of Heroes capacity, and whether additional names are added.
3 sources
More stories
The week's bottom lines, in your inbox
One email a week: the five stories that mattered and what they actually mean. Free.