Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Claim
Image of the debris of the Titan submersible, which imploded during its descent to the Titanic shipwreck site in June 2023.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Also Read: Viral Photo Claiming To Show Debris Of The Titan Submersible Is From 2004
Fact
Newschecker learnt that the US Coast Guard had confirmed on June 22 that the Titan submersible imploded during its descent, killing all five men on board, while stating that a debris field was found near the Titanic with debris consistent with the tourist sub. However, at the time of publishing this article, no images of any debris had been confirmed by the US Coast Guard or any credible news outlets.
We then ran a reverse image search of the viral photo, which led us to the earliest instance of the photo being tweeted.
A community note attached to the photo states that the image is an artistic impression and that there are no reported photographs of the Titan submarine wreckage.
The Twitter user’s bio and name reveals that it is a parody account that regularly uploads altered images, with a line stating, “The whole world is fake news”, along with a link to a fake news website. The website, Madeup.news, states that it has revolutionised the fake news industry by focusing exclusively on eye-catching thumbnails and snappy titles that tell the whole story, while adding that its meticulously crafted AI-generated titles and images are designed to spark laughter. We saw that the user has shared multiple images generated using the AI tool, Midjourney.
We also learnt that in an event of a “catastrophic implosion”, the whole structure would not remain intact, as seen in the viral image. In an implosion, triggered by a defect in the hull or any other design flaw, the Titan would have collapsed on itself in milliseconds, crushed by the immense pressure present in deep water, which further confirms that the viral image is false.
Result: False
Sources
Tweet, Prince of Deepfakes, June 22
CNN news report, June 23, 2023
India Today report, June 23, 2023
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
