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On the morning of September 11, immediately after two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in Manhattan, photojournalist Mark D. Phillips took a picture that would prove to be one of the most evocative and disputed images of that tragic day. The picture, as Phillips first saw it, showed the tops of the twin towers, smoke billowing from the gaping holes left by the planes. Published in numerous newspapers worldwide, the photo prompted some to believe -- as Michigan's Saginaw News reported on 9/13/01 -- "that Satan himself presided over terrorist attacks on the United States." Phillips received thousands of e-mails in the weeks after the attacks -- most of which have been archived here in a searchable format. These e-mails provide a revealing portal into Americans' responses to the attacks in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.

Many have questioned the validity of the photograph, including the Poynter Institute, a media watchdog organization. Because Phillips shot the image digitally, there was no original photographic negative with which to authenticate his claims. Phillips, however, sent the original digital file to Olympus, the manufacturer of his camera. They have verified the file as original and untouched. To view their memorandum, click here. Subsequently, most media outlets -- including the Poynter Institute -- have confirmed the authenticity of the image.

Read some press coverage of this episode from the LA Times, K*USA TV, and the Philadelphia Daily News.

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