The Titan Submarine Disaster: Did the Controller Really Survive? The news of the last few days has been full of it: It's about the submarine disaster on the way to the Titanic. A few days ago, some wealthy people who were interested in the Titanic set out to dive for the Titanic in a submarine built specifically for this purpose and, according to current knowledge, died in the process.
The tragedy and the controversy
On June 22, the American Coast Guard announced the discovery of a debris field. This suggests that the submersible Titan with five passengers on board, which was on an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic, suffered a catastrophic implosion with no survivors. In this context, the design of the submersible, which was controlled with a commercially available video game controller, was repeatedly criticized.
There was always talk of a controller with which the five were said to have controlled the submarine. Now there are strange pictures on the Internet as if this controller had reappeared - what's the matter?
Did the controller “survive”?
There have been claims on social media that a controller "survived" the devastating implosion of the OceanGate Expeditions submersible Titan in June 2023. The manipulated image was posted on Twitter with the caption: “Despite the implosion, wreckage and tragedy of the Titan submersible, we can all at least take comfort in the fact that there was at least one survivor; that cheap, fake Xbox controller”.
Despite the implosion, the debris, and the tragedy of the Titan submersible, we can all at least take solace in the fact that there was at least one survivor;
— He Who Seeks (@Nataksan) June 23, 2023
That cheap, knockoff Xbox controller… pic.twitter.com/a1bj4XkbA0
And there was this false claim on Facebook

Fact check:
The original recording
The original image, which does not show a controller, appeared in a 2020 BBC article . This article discussed the damage that deep-sea mining causes to the seabed. The image source is the renowned Ocean Research Center GEOMAR.
In comparison
Left: The original photo from the BBC article from 2020 and Right: The manipulated photo from 2023

| claim | Fact check |
|---|---|
| A video game controller was found on a picture of the ocean floor after the OceanGate expedition submersible Titan imploded. | Incorrect. The image has been manipulated to add a controller. The original image does not contain a controller. |
| The original image with the controller originally appeared in a BBC article about deep sea mining. | Incorrect. The original image without the controller appeared in the BBC article. It was rigged to add the controller. |
| The US Coast Guard has discovered a debris field that indicates an implosion of the submersible Titan. | Correct. The Coast Guard announced that a debris field was found indicating a catastrophic implosion of the submersible Titan. |
| The design of the submersible, including the use of an off-the-shelf video game controller, was a source of safety concerns. | Correct. It has been repeatedly reported that the design of the submersible, including the use of an off-the-shelf video game controller, raised safety concerns. |
| The controller was identified in the debris field. | Incorrect. No official statements have been made identifying the controller of the submersible in the debris field. |
Conclusion: The image of the seabed has been manipulated and the original does not show the controller of the Titan submersible on the seabed. No official body has confirmed that the controller was identified in the debris field. The tragic story of the wreck of the Titanic and the failed submersible Titan is complex enough - there is no room for misinformation and manipulated images.
Related to the topic: The Simpsons: Fact check on the submarine accident claim
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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

