By: Robert Wei

The sinking of the Titanic, one of the most infamous events of the 20th century, is believed by most people to be caused by an iceberg collision, but many truthers on TikTok believe something else triggered the sinking. On the popular and short clips app, some very widely accepted facts are now being diminished to small rumors with unreliable sources and manipulated content.

One example is a 32-second video of a black and white sketch of the Titanic, its stern above waves filled with people, accompanied by suspenseful music. One man who claimed that the Titanic never sunk explains the swap theory, which insists the ruins were the Titanic’s twin cruiser, the R.M.S. Olympic. The Olympic was believed to have sunk and was mistaken for the Titanic which would actually have never disappeared into the ice-cold ocean. Another video reported a conspiracy theory that John Pierpont Senior, best known as J.P. Morgan, was the cause of the Titanic’s disappearance to wipe out his opponents of the American Federal Reserve. Experts argue that the claims lack support from both historical evidence and logical reasoning. It is indicated by evidence that J.P. Morgan’s absence from the Titanic’s failed voyage can be attributed to an unprecedented situation related to his collection of European art. Additionally, for the theory to hold true, Morgan would have needed to replicate or model a collision with an iceberg of devastating impact and ensure that his adversaries were not among the over 700 individuals who survived the disaster.

“It becomes kind of deflating to see a lot of this junk coming out. I feel like one of the very few voices crying out against the sound of a hurricane.” Charles A. Haas, one of the founders of the Titanic International Society who has spent sixty years or so studying the sunken cruiser, said. He co-wrote five works on the topic, dived down to the wreck site twice, and broke down and analyzed countless conspiracy theories.

Hass attributed the decision in part to the fear that TikTok’s reputation as “kind of a wild and woolly place. He said he would taint any serious research shared on the platform. “If you have a wonderful piece of filet mignon and you wrap it in smelly fish, the filet mignon after a while doesn’t smell so good either,” Haas said. This means that if you bury the truth with all kinds of misinformation, then after a while, there are believers of each version, and it becomes harder and harder to find the real truth.

All these theories appear on TikTok, but why TikTok? Because these eye-catching conspiracies attract people’s attention easily, especially about well-known topics like Titanic. The more viewers and followers, the more income the video creators will get. On the other hand, TikTok is a platform for short videos between fifteen and thirty seconds, so viewers are fed with instant stimulation and over time, will lose interest or ability of critical thinking. It becomes more and more important to think independently and critically, and for important topics, always consult multiple reputable sources to verify the information you encounter.