Benjamin Chertoff is a journalist, photographer and video producer. He is most known for his work on the

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...

article 9/11: Debunking The Myths. He also created the Popular Mechanics Show, the weekly podcast of

magazine. He is currently a freelance photojournalist, writer and documentary producer.

Biography

Benjamin Chertoff is a

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

and

photo A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now created ...

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. He began his career at the age of 19, working as an intern in the features department at Time Out New York Magazine—including researching the magazine's Urban Legends story—and later contributing to the features section. Along with

freelancing ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

for several national magazines, he then worked at

Men's Journal ''Men's Journal'' is an American monthly men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and gear. It was founded in 1992 by Jann Wenne ...

. In 2003 he helped start the political non-profit Music for America. He moved to

in September, 2004. There, he worked as the magazine's research editor, and helped to manage the reporting for magazine's March, 2005 ''9/11: Debunking The Myths'' story, as well as the magazine's coverage of the aftermath to

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, and many other aviation, military and technology stories. He held the position of Online Editor of Popular Mechanics, and edited all the digital outlets of Popular Mechanics Magazine. The magazine's investigation of 9/11 conspiracy theories was the first of its kind. Chertoff has stated that the magazine's editors decided to investigate 9/11 Myths after seeing

Jimmy Walter James W. Walter, Jr. (born 1947) is an American venture capitalist and author.

's full-page ad in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' for a book called Painful Questions. In a June, 2006 column in Scientific American magazine,

Skeptics Society The Skeptics Society is a nonprofit, member-supported organization devoted to promoting scientific skepticism and resisting the spread of pseudoscience, superstition, and irrational beliefs. The Skeptics Society was co-founded by Michael Sh ...

president Dr.

Michael Shermer Michael Brant Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of ''Skeptic'' magazine, a publication focused on investigating pseudoscientific ...

called the Popular Mechanics article "the single best debunking of this conspiratorial codswallop." In 2006, the magazine published the book '' Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can't Stand Up to the Facts'', which greatly expanded on the original story, including new myths and much more detail than could fit in the original, magazine article. In 2007, Benjamin Chertoff left Popular Mechanics and began producing video and audio content for AOL's Switched.com, among other verticals. He currently lives in New York City, where he is a freelance photojournalist, photographer and documentary video producer.

Disputed family background

Proponents of the

9-11 conspiracy theories 9/11 conspiracy theory, conspiracy theories attribute the preparation and execution of the September 11 attacks against the United States to parties other than, or in addition to, al-Qaeda. These include the theory that high-level government ...

have claimed that one of the researchers at Popular Mechanics, Benjamin Chertoff is the cousin of former

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

secretary

Michael Chertoff Michael Chertoff (born November 28, 1953) is an American attorney who was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security to serve under President George W. Bush. Chertoff also served for one additional day under President Barack Obama. H ...

because they share the same last name."Viewing 9/11 From a Grassy Knoll"
, Will Sullivan, '' U.S. News & World Report'', March 9, 2006 However, Chertoff has repeatedly denied this claim, most notably in the September 11, 2006 issue of U.S. News & World Report, stating "no one in my family has ever met anyone related to Michael Chertoff". In an audio interview, he noted that any possible relationship would likely only be found in "19th-century Belarus", and that his mother has described any such possible relationship as "distant".

Coverage

He has been referred to by

Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 19 ...

, a

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

blog,

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

and

ABC news ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

.ABC News: Car of the Future May Drive You
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References

External links

Odeo podcast
with Benjamin Chertoff
Personal website
of Benjamin Chertoff {{DEFAULTSORT:Chertoff, Benjamin American magazine editors American male journalists American online journalists American online publication editors American people of Belarusian descent Living people Year of birth missing (living people)