copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-03-22)
Evidence (2023-04-03): A video circulating on social media is promoting a conspiracy theory surrounding the sinking of the Titanic. According to the theory, the Titanic ship never sunk and it was actually the HMS Olympic, one of the Titanic’s sister ships, that was deliberately sunk. The theory suggests that the Olympic, which had been damaged in an accident, was returned to the manufacturer for repairs while the Titanic was under construction. To recoup the losses from the accident and claim the insurance, the company allegedly switched the names of the two ships, and the Titanic was then deliberately sunk, resulting in the loss of over 1500 lives. The video claims that the source of these claims was Robin Gardner. Let’s check the veracity of these claims. [...] To sum it up, the evidence gathered from various sources including historical documents, shipbuilding records, and testimonies from experts, researchers, and historians strongly suggests that there is no basis to support the claims that the Titanic was switched with the Olympic and intentionally sunk for insurance fraud. Therefore, the theory remains a baseless and unfounded conspiracy.
Claim: The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-03-22)
Evidence (1995-01-01): Gardiner and van der Vat's theory runs like so: The Titanic did not sink. Rather, her damaged and almost identical sister-ship the Olympic was substituted and deliberately sunk in her place as part of a gigantic insurance fraud. [...] This, the theory continues, was accomplished with a simple switch. To the untrained eye, the Olympic and the Titanic were almost identical, and so a clandestine slight-of-hand was accomplished while the two ships were in dock together at the Harland and Wolff yard at Belfast in March, 1912. Name-plates, life-belts and so forth were secretly swapped. The Olympic" now disguised as the Titanic, was patched up and deliberately sailed into a known ice-field... The authors stress that this is not a mass murder conspiracy, but "an insurance fraud which went horribly wrong." The plan, they speculate, was that the "Olympic/Titanic" would indeed hit an iceberg, but that her water-tight compartments would keep her afloat for long enough for other ships of the same line safely to take off all the passengers and crew before the great ship went down. Unfortunately for all concerned, they claim, the liner's "ever-impetuous" Captain Smith got it "wrong" and hit the ice-field early, resulting in massive and terrible loss of life.
Claim: The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-03-22)
Evidence (2024-09-28): Two vessels were indistinguishable. The Titanic and Olympic; some individuals speculate that the sinking, in 1912 was the "Vessel Olympic,". The enigma persists since there is no proof to back this claim up. Certain individuals suggest that there was a switch, between the two ships as part of an insurance fraud scheme, in history. However, the credibility of these claims has been refuted by evidence and expert opinions confirming that the Titanic is truly lying at the bottom of the ocean. [...] A known conspiracy theory proposes that before the tragic maiden voyage of the Titanic took place. It was its sister ship named the Olympic that was switched with the Titanic because the Olympic had encountered numerous expensive mishaps Allegedly masquerading as the Titanic enabled them to recover losses through insurance…
Claim: The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-03-22)
Evidence (2024-01-01): The Titanic Was Sunk Deliberately To Create The Federal Reserve (Article)
Claim: The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-03-22)
Evidence (2024-07-30): Rather, the White Star Line swapped ships for the voyage from Southampton to New York, and the ship billed as the top-of-the-line Titanic was actually an older ship: the Olympic. What’s more, the conspiracy theory suggests, the entire crash was an insurance scam gone wrong. [...] Historian Mark Chirnside has also devoted serious time to the question of why, exactly, the switch would be made. In 2005, he examined the insurance argument—that the ship would be intentionally sunk to claim the insurance benefits. Quoting Ismay, "the Titanic ‘cost $7,500,000’—and was insured ‘for $5,000,000, I understand.’" This is backed up by the IMM’s American Vice President, Philip A. S. Franklin, who confirmed that the insurance policy was $5 million. [...] Closely examined, none of the Olympic/Titanic claims can hold up to the phenomenal effort that was needed for the switch: the two ships were not exactly identical. The Titanic had a "unique café and enlarged á la carte restaurant," Chirnside writes, and was modified based on the company’s earlier experience with the Olympic. More recently, the Associated Press reports Titanic wreckage has been recovered with the ship’s unique construction identification number (CIN); the 401 being irrefutable evidence that it wasn’t an ill-fated cover up.
Claim: The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-03-22)
Evidence (2024-06-26): Was a fire-damaged ship, the Olympic, disguised as the Titanic so it could be intentionally sunk to commit "the greatest insurance fraud in history"? No, that's not true: The baseless Titanic-switch conspiracy is proven false on multiple fronts. The Olympic was in service the night the Titanic sank, and continued to be used as a passenger ship and a troop transport ship in WWI until it was retired and scrapped in 1935. Olympic's parts bore the Harland & Wolff shipyard number 400. The Titanic, built in the adjacent berth in the shipyard, was assigned number 401 -- a number that has been documented, still visible, on one of the ship's giant propellers at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean, where it sank in 1912. [...] The Titanic never sank. That is a lie. The actual Titanic was stripped for parts and sold off. The Olympic is what sank...a ship that was disguised as the Titanic because it was an identical sister ship. All I have to say is there was a fire on board a week before it was due to set sail so the structure was damaged at the bottom of the ship. The letters TITANIC were painted over the letters OLYMPIC. And Britain got away with the greatest insurance fraud in history. [...] This post contains a unique variation of a conspiracy theory originally introduced in a 1996 book entitled, "The Titanic Conspiracy: Cover-Ups and Mysteries of the World's Most Famous Sea Disaster:" that the Titanic and Olympic had been switched to permit filing of a fraudulent insurance claim.
Claim: The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-03-22)
Evidence (2023-08-06): The Titanic Switch Conspiracy Theory posits a captivating and audacious claim that the RMS Titanic, the iconic ocean liner that met a tragic fate on its maiden voyage, was intentionally switched with its sister ship, the RMS Olympic. According to this theory, the White Star Line, owner of both vessels, orchestrated an elaborate insurance fraud scheme by deliberately sinking the damaged Olympic in place of the pristine Titanic. In this essay, we will delve into the origins of this theory, examine the purported evidence, and evaluate its plausibility against historical facts. The Titanic Switch Conspiracy Theory gained traction in the early 1990s when British authors Robin Gardiner and Dan Van der Vat published their book, "The Titanic Conspiracy." Their work detailed the theory, drawing attention to perceived discrepancies between the Olympic and Titanic, as well as the financial difficulties faced by the White Star Line at the time. [...] The theory proposes that the switch aimed to claim a substantial insurance payout by deliberately sinking the Olympic, which had already incurred considerable repair costs. They argue that sinking the vessel under the name of the Titanic would allow the White Star Line to recover the expenses and gain financially from the insurance payout, while also retaining the fully functional Titanic.
Claim: The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-03-22)
Evidence (2018-01-30): The Olympic, the theory goes, would be swapped with the Titanic and sunk in a staged accident. The Titanic, now disguised as the Olympic, would then carry on in service. [...] Rumours were circulating amongst the workers at Harland and Wolff that the ships had been swapped as part of an insurance scam, and Titanic was to be sunk. [...] Was the Titanic swapped with its sister ship the Olympic as part of an insurance scam?
Claim: The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-03-22)
Evidence (2019-09-26): There are some who acknowledge that Gardiner and others have no evidence of insurance fraud, admitting that Titanic was indeed under-insured, and that the theory that the White Star planned to scuttle the ship in a pre-arranged mid-Atlantic collision is simply untenable. Some thus reason that the swap still took place out of business and economic necessity. However this claim goes with the assumption that the White Star Line was suffering financially. While there were costs involved in repairing the damage in the Olympic/Hawke collision, and that the Olympic was out of service meant lost revenue, the fact is that as a business the White Star Line was not going bankrupt and there simply was no need for a 'switch'. This has already been discussed here. Mark Chirnside reports the following: [...] 3. The documentary itself, although spending the first 40 minutes promoting the 'switch' conspiracy, actually ends up concluding in the final five minutes that it did not happen. Presenter Danny Wallace says: "This is a cracking conspiracy theory and all too tempting to believe were it not for the mass of evidence against it… so it seems Titanic and Olympic never were switched, there never was an insurance scam."
Claim: The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-03-22)
Evidence (2023-06-22): People seem to love a good insurance fraud story, so maybe it’s unsurprising that this conspiracy theory is one of the Titanic’s most popular. This one posits that someone switched the Titanic with another White Star Line ship, the R.M.S. Olympic. But as Paul Burns, vice president and curator for the Titanic Museum Attractions in Missouri and Tennessee, points out, "it just doesn’t make any sense." [...] The conspiracy theory claims that some person or people found the Olympic too severely damaged to be profitable, and so at some point switched it with the Titanic to purposefully ditch the damaged ship, reap the insurance money and, it seems, kill a bunch of people in the process. There are a lot of holes in this theory, but one of the biggest is that the Titanic’s insurance wasn’t enough to cover the Olympic’s loss. As J. Kent Layton writes in Conspiracies at Sea, "the switch conspiracy founders—quite literally—on its financial merits alone."
Claim: The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-03-22)
Evidence (2021-04-15): According to the unlikely conspiracy, since the damage to Olympic was extensive and expensive to repair, the owner of both ships—the White Star Line—swapped the two vessels, so Olympic masqueraded as Titanic during its maiden voyage in 1912. The conspiracy theorists suggest that the ship’s crew were supposed to sink the damaged Olympic during the voyage, so that the White Star Line would be able to collect the insurance money. Nobody was supposed to die as result of the sinking—it was supposed to sink slowly enough that everyone could evacuate in time. [...] But—most importantly—Titanic was underinsured. It was worth $7.5 million (in 1912 dollars), but insured for only $5 million. And, Titanic was insured for less than the value for which Olympic was insured. So, if The White Star Line sank Olympic, but masqueraded it as Titanic, the insurance money the White Star Line allegedly would have received wouldn’t have covered Olympic. There are myriad conspiracy theories surrounding the sinking of Titanic, but when considering such theories, it’s important to fact-check. The White Star Line intentionally sinking Olympic would be impressive, but when you take a closer look, it’s clear that this would have been nearly impossible.
Claim: The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-03-22)
Evidence (2016-03-18): Over the years people have spoken about Titanic and learnt how it sunk on that dreadful night in April 1912, however some people are led to believe that it was in fact its sister ship the Olympic that sunk as part of an insurance scam. [...] This incident caused many problems for the ship's owners, White Star Line as this meant that it would have to be taken out of service while they repaired it but this also meant that the maiden voyage of Titanic had to be put back from the 20th March to the 10th April. This at the time was something that White Star Line could not afford to do as they had legal bills to pay and the cost of repairing the Olympic as well. This meant that they had to come up with away to claim back not only the money that they would have missed out on due to Olympic not being in service (loss of revenue) but also the money they couldn’t claim back from the incident. So they came up with a plan… …The plan was simple, switch Olympic with her sister ship Titanic and sink it to claim compensation. [...] Now you have been provided with just some of the facts, check out some of the links below then head over to twitter and using the #TitanicOlympicSwitch voice your opinion as to whether the ship that sank on April 15 th 1912 at 2.20am was really the Titanic or its sister ship Olympic.
Claim: The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-03-22)
Evidence (2024-09-10): The Titanic is one of the most famous maritime disasters of all time, but did the Titanic really sink on the morning of 15 April 1912? Titanic’s older sister, the nearly identical Olympic, was involved in a serious accident in September 1911 – an accident that may have made her a liability to her owners the White Star Line. Since 1912 rumours of a conspiracy to switch the two sisters in an elaborate insurance scam has always loomed behind the tragic story of the Titanic. Could the White Star Line have really switched the Olympic with her near identical sister in a ruse to intentionally sink their mortally damaged flagship in April 1912, in order to cash in on the insurance policy? Laying bare the famous conspiracy theory, world-respected Titanic researchers investigate claims that the sister ships were switched in an insurance scam and provide definitive proof for whether it could - or could not - have happened.
Claim: The Titanic ship was switched with the HMS Olympic and deliberately sunk as part of an insurance fraud scheme (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-03-22)
Evidence (2018-08-04): The ship’s sinking still captivates imaginations, as both a genuine tragedy and a near-perfect metaphor for humanity’s hubris. Ever since the luxury liner went down, conspiracy theories have clung to it like barnacles. One elaborate theory says the 46,000-ton vessel was switched with its sister ship, the Olympic, in a convoluted insurance scam, a fake iceberg collision that went horribly wrong. [...] Supposedly, the conspiracists say, Morgan canceled his Titanic trip at the last minute before the ship’s April 10, 1912, departure from Southampton, England. Then Morgan somehow had the ship sunk, killing 1,503 of its 2,224 passengers, to get rid of Astor, Straus and Guggenheim.
Claim: Visuals of CBI officials thrashing Station Master Mohammad Sharif, the main accused in the Odisha train tragedy, after apprehending him from a Madrasa in West Bengal (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-06-22)
Evidence (2023-06-22): The viral video has been circulating for at least 2 years, depicting an incident in Mexico where a robber is being assaulted. Moreover, during the time of the accident, the person in charge of Bahanaga Bazar station was Station Superintendent S. B. Mohanty, who has already been questioned by the authorities. There is no staff member named Mohammed Sharif at that station. Also, CBI has not disclosed any information regarding the individuals responsible for the accident yet. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Claim: Visuals of CBI officials thrashing Station Master Mohammad Sharif, the main accused in the Odisha train tragedy, after apprehending him from a Madrasa in West Bengal (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-06-22)
Evidence (2023-06-23): Main accused in the Odisha train mishap, Station Master Sharif, who was hiding in a West Bengal Madrasa has been arrested. A video showing his "interrogation" by the investigating authorities. [...] A disturbing video of a person brutally assaulting a naked man lying on the floor with his hands cuffed behind him, is being widely shared online, with multiple social media users linking it to the June 2 Odisha triple-train accident. Those sharing the video alleged that the "main accused" of the Balasore train mishap, Station Master Sharif, who was allegedly hiding in a West Bengal Madrasa, has been arrested by the CBI. Newschecker found that the footage predates the Odisha train accident, and has been used to further build on the false narrative of the absconding station master of Bahanaga Bazar Railway Station, Sharif. [...] Furthermore, the false narrative around "absconding Station Master Sharif" has already been debunked by Newschecker. The same can be seen here.
Claim: Visuals of CBI officials thrashing Station Master Mohammad Sharif, the main accused in the Odisha train tragedy, after apprehending him from a Madrasa in West Bengal (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-06-22)
Evidence (2023-06-05): A devastating crash involving three trains in the eastern Indian state of Odisha has killed 275 people and left more than 1,000 injured, many of them seriously.
Claim: Visuals of CBI officials thrashing Station Master Mohammad Sharif, the main accused in the Odisha train tragedy, after apprehending him from a Madrasa in West Bengal (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-06-22)
Evidence (2023-06-21): Odisha Train Tragedy: CBI Questions Signal JE Amir Khan At His ‘Sealed’ Rented House Balasore: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday questioned Soro Signal Junior Engineer (JE) Amir Khan in connection with triple train accident at Bahanaga, at his rented house in Odisha’s Balasore, which was sealed by a five-member team of the central agency the previous morning. A three-member CBI team and the junior engineer, a native of West Bengal, reached his rented house in the morning. The agency searched his house, grilled him for over 6 hours and then left with him in the evening, a source said.
Claim: Visuals of CBI officials thrashing Station Master Mohammad Sharif, the main accused in the Odisha train tragedy, after apprehending him from a Madrasa in West Bengal (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-06-22)
Evidence (2023-06-05): Odisha train tragedy: A recap of what has happened in 3 days [...] ALSO READ | Odisha train tragedy: 'Serious flaws in signalling system' were flagged 3 months ago [...] ALSO READ | Railway board recommends CBI probe into Odisha triple train tragedy, says Ashwini Vaishnaw
Claim: Visuals of CBI officials thrashing Station Master Mohammad Sharif, the main accused in the Odisha train tragedy, after apprehending him from a Madrasa in West Bengal (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-06-22)
Evidence (2023-06-06): Odisha train accident: CBI probe may look at error in interlocking system, sabotage CBI will look at all possible reasons behind the horrific three-train crash in Odisha’s Balasore district last week, officials said. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will look at all possible reasons behind the horrific three-train crash in Odisha’s Balasore district last week, including human error and sabotage, a senior officer said on Monday, as railway authorities expanded their probe and questioned the assistant station master and drivers of the two trains to ascertain how the worst rail accident in nearly three decades occurred.
Claim: Visuals of CBI officials thrashing Station Master Mohammad Sharif, the main accused in the Odisha train tragedy, after apprehending him from a Madrasa in West Bengal (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-06-22)
Evidence (2023-06-04): Also read: Odisha train accident | Probe to examine whether the Coromandel Express derailed or switched tracks [...] Also read: Odisha train accident | Data logger analysis to provide crucial evidence for rail probe
Claim: Visuals of CBI officials thrashing Station Master Mohammad Sharif, the main accused in the Odisha train tragedy, after apprehending him from a Madrasa in West Bengal (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-06-22)
Evidence (2023-07-07): Three railways officials have been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday in connection with the train tragedy in Odisha in which over 290 people were killed.
Claim: Visuals of CBI officials thrashing Station Master Mohammad Sharif, the main accused in the Odisha train tragedy, after apprehending him from a Madrasa in West Bengal (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-06-22)
Evidence (2023-06-08): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is inquiring into the triple train tragedy in Odisha's Balasore district, has collected evidence from the accident site and from Bahanaga Bazar station where the accident took place on the evening of June 2. According to sources, the CBI officials visited the accident site and Bahanaga Bazar railway station twice on Tuesday, June 6 and spent nearly 45 minutes again on Wednesday and collected vital information and evidence related to the accident. [...] Last Sunday, the Railway Board recommended a CBI probe into the tragic accident in which the death toll has touched 288. A 10-member CBI team had reached Balasore on Monday evening and started investigation into the case from Tuesday. [...] The train accident - the deadliest train crash in India in decades - claimed 288 lives, including 39 from Odisha.
Claim: Visuals of CBI officials thrashing Station Master Mohammad Sharif, the main accused in the Odisha train tragedy, after apprehending him from a Madrasa in West Bengal (SOCIAL MEDIA POST, 2023-06-22)
Evidence (2023-06-20): Odisha train tragedy: Jr Engineer Amir Khan not missing, but still under CBI scanner [...] Watch: Sabotage behind Odisha train tragedy? Sr. Rly engineer’s tell-all interview "The CBI team had left Balasore on June 16 after completing initial investigations. The team returned on Monday to seal the house," a police source said. "The house was sealed as Khan was not present at his home. It was presumed that he was missing," a police official said. This has been discounted by railway officials. [...] Watch | Odisha train tragedy: A deep dive into the 17-A concern