Factual error: During the morning scene where snipers on top of the White House investigate a window curtain, they use a thermal imaging sight. They then see the heat signature of a couple through the window, but a thermal sight cannot detect a heat signature when it's behind glass. (00:03:45)
Factual error: On the laptop the news shows a Lockheed S-3 Viking launching from a carrier. The Viking was retired in 2010. (00:09:25)
Continuity mistake: When Cale asks his ex-wife what he has done, he has the envelope he is holding in one hand in one shot and both hands in the next. (00:10:05)
Continuity mistake: When John and Emily are in the car at the start, the way John holds the envelope changes between shots. Note the flap. (00:11:20)
Character mistake: Towards the start, when Emily mentions that the presidential limo is based on a Cadillac CTS, she is wrong. The Cadillac DTS is the basis for the car, even though it does not carry a model designation anymore. (00:14:00)
Continuity mistake: In Cale's interview, just before agent Todd starts making a noise, Maggie is holding a fact sheet about Cale. The way she holds it changes between shots. (00:16:40)
Continuity mistake: When John and Emily start their tour, the guide asks them where they're from. After that, they start to walk towards one hallway. John and Emily are in the back. The next shot, they're in the front of the pack. There would not have been enough time for this to happen. (00:28:00 - 00:29:00)
Audio problem: When Cale is kicking the terrorist in the bathroom he says "You think you're tough?" However his face is scrunched up and his mouth is not moving when the audio is heard. (00:38:10)
Revealing mistake: When John attacks the 3 bad guys in the residence area, one of them throws John into the wall which wobbles. (01:00:35)
Revealing mistake: When we see Cadillac One cutting over some grass, marks from previous takes are visible. (01:12:50)
Other mistake: After the sprinklers go off in the White House, none of the actors' clothes are wet. With the amount of water sprayed, all of them should have their clothes stuck to their bodies. (01:25:00)
Continuity mistake: Towards the end of the movie when John is talking to the President after he got shot in the watch, John has a wound on his right arm. A few minutes later when John is outside the White House you can see his wound is different, it's bigger and there's lots more blood. (01:52:50 - 01:55:30)
Factual error: When Sawyer and Cale take Cadillac One ("The Beast"), they eventually want to shoot a rocket launcher at the fence. Sawyer wants to do this while hanging out of the window. The real Cadillac One is bullet proof and has several layers of glass with the final one softer not only to prevent the bullets entering but the deadlier threat of glass pieces. Only the driver side can open approximately 3 inches.
Factual error: The attacking helicopters get a "missile lock" warning on two occasions from the Javelins, despite Javelins being infra-red guided, meaning there's no active signal for the helicopters to detect.
Factual error: While the Vice President is on board, the Boeing VC-25 of the president is referred to as Air Force One, even though the president is not on board. It should be referred to as Air Force Two.
Factual error: When passing the White House fence, the M1 Abrams tank is destroyed by RPG's fired by the terrorists. RPG's, while capable to do some damage to a Abrams battle tank, would not destroy it. Only anti-tank missiles would be capable to do that.
Factual error: An ICBM is not an AA missile, yet from NORAD the terrorists aim one to take down Air Force One. An ICBM cannot be told to take down a plane, it doesn't have the guidance or right detonation capabilities.
Factual error: Even if there was a compromise of the president's launch codes, nuclear missiles still cannot be fired without consent of a cabinet member, the captain and XO of a submarine or the equivalent officers at a land based launch site.
Other mistake: Near the end, the sprinklers are turned off in the oval office, which should mean they are all turned off as they all came on together, but where the fist-fighting continues, the sprinklers are still on.
Factual error: Doesn't matter how good the programmer/hacker is you cannot override NORAD and launch its missiles remotely without authorization. Especially not on your own with just the presidential identification.
Answer: Knowing is not believing. They might know, but they wouldn't necessarily trust the media. After all it could have been a grand conspiracy to cover up the actual truth from the people.
Alan Keddie
I highly doubt world war 3 would start before these countries did their homework though. It wouldn't take long for them to suss out it was actually terrorists who detonated the bombs and not America.
The_Iceman