Viral audio of underwater banging unrelated to search for Titan submersible | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Video features audio captured during search for OceanGate submersible

A June 21 Facebook video shows an image of the OceanGate submersible while audio of sonar beeps and thumping plays in the background.

"Here's the audio of the knocking they caught from the submarine," reads on-screen text.

The caption claims the audio was heard every 30 minutes during the search for the submersible.

The post was shared more than 25,000 times in a week. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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Our rating: False

The noises heard during the search haven't been publicly released. A member of the Coast Guard said they seem to be unrelated to the submersible.

Noises appear to be unrelated to submersible

Underwater banging noises were detected during the joint search for the missing OceanGate submersible, which led many to think the five men aboard were still alive.

However, the audio in the Facebook video wasn't recorded during the search.

Robert Hodges, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson, told the Associated Press that the military branch hasn't released any audio from the search effort. The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.

The Coast Guard didn't publish the audio during or after its June 21 press briefing, during which Capt. Jamie Frederic announced searchers had detected underwater noises.

Jessica Lamirande, a spokesperson for the Canadian Department of National Defense, told USA TODAY in an email that Canada hasn't released the audio either.

Fact check: Nothing found so far in search for Titanic-bound submersible, contrary to viral claim

After debris from the submersible was found about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic, Rear Adm. John Mauger said in a June 22 press briefing that the submersible had imploded and the underwater noise appeared to be unrelated.

Matt Dzieciuch, an ocean acoustics expert at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, told AP the audio in the Facebook video doesn't sound real because the banging noises are "exceptionally clear" and the time between the "pings" of the sonar is too short. Dzieciuch also said he would expect the sound of the water to be quieter and the background noises to be steadier.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The claim has also been debunked by Lead Stories and Full Fact.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Underwater banging audio unrelated to OceanGate search | Fact check