Titanic Conspiracy Theories - Wikipedia

Pseudohistory of RMS Titanic

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article has been flagged as possibly containing fringe theories without giving appropriate weight to mainstream views. Please help improve the article or discuss the issue on the talk page. (April 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "Titanic conspiracy theories" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

On April 14, 1912, the Titanic collided with an iceberg, damaging the hull's plates below the waterline on the starboard side, causing the front compartments to flood. The ship then sank two hours and forty minutes later, with approximately 1,496 fatalities as a result of drowning or hypothermia.[1] Since then, many conspiracy theories have been suggested regarding the disaster. These theories have been refuted by subject-matter experts.

Olympic exchange hypothesis

[edit]

One of the controversial[2][3] and elaborate theories surrounding the sinking of the Titanic was advanced by Robin Gardiner in his book Titanic: The Ship That Never Sank? (1998).[4] Gardiner draws on several events and coincidences that occurred in the months, days, and hours leading up to the sinking of the Titanic, and concludes that the ship that sank was in fact Titanic's sister ship Olympic, disguised as Titanic, as an insurance scam by its owners, the International Mercantile Marine Group, controlled by American financier J. P. Morgan, who had acquired the White Star Line in 1902.

Researchers Bruce Beveridge and Steve Hall took issue with many of Gardiner's claims in their book Olympic and Titanic: The Truth Behind the Conspiracy (2004).[2] Author Mark Chirnside has also raised serious questions about the switch theory.[3] British historian Gareth Russell, in his book, The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of The Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era, (2019) calls the theory "so painfully ridiculous that one can only lament the thousands of trees which lost their lives to provide the paper on which it has been articulated." He notes that, "since the sister ships had significant interior architectural and design differences, switching them secretly in a week would be nearly impossible from a practical standpoint. A switch would also not be economically worthwhile, since the ship's owners could have simply damaged the ship while docked (for instance, by setting a fire) and collected the insurance money from that 'accident', which would have been far less severe, and infinitely less stupid, than sailing her out into the middle of the Atlantic with thousands of people, and their luggage, on board, and ramming her into an iceberg".[5] Maritime historian Chris Frame also noted that the Olympic and Titanic were at vastly different stages of construction when the two ships met in both 1911 and 1912, stating: "It is far more profitable to run a ship for decades than to sink it for a one-time payment. Sinking the Olympic for an insurance claim would have been a terrible business decision." [6] Furthermore, maritime researcher Mike Brady has published extensive video analysis of the theory in which he notes an attempt to "set the record straight on Gardiner's theory and reveal the truth behind the great Titanic conspiracy theory; the greatest fraud in modern historiography." [7]

Deliberately sunk

[edit]

Another claim that started gaining traction in late 2017 alleges that J. P. Morgan deliberately sank the ship to kill off several millionaires who were in opposition to the Federal Reserve. The claim appears as early as 2002 in the book The Secret Terrorists by conspiracy theorist Bill Hughes, where it is purported that the sinking of the Titanic was part of a larger Jesuit plot to create a central bank in the United States.[8] Some of the wealthiest men in the world were aboard the Titanic for her maiden voyage, several of whom, including John Jacob Astor IV, Benjamin Guggenheim, and Isidor Straus, were allegedly opposed to the creation of a U.S. central bank.[9] No evidence of their opposition to Morgan's centralised banking ideas has been found: Astor and Guggenheim never spoke publicly on the subject, while Straus spoke in favour of the concept.[10][11] All three men died during the sinking. Conspiracy theorists suggest that Morgan arranged to have the men board the ship and then sunk it to eliminate them.[12] Morgan cancelled his ticket for Titanic's maiden voyage due to a reported illness, while Guggenheim had not purchased a ticket before Morgan's cancellation.[13] Morgan, nicknamed the "Napoleon of Wall Street", had helped create General Electric, U.S. Steel, and International Harvester, is the namesake of JPMorgan Chase, and was credited with almost single-handedly saving the U.S. banking system during the Panic of 1907. Morgan did have a hand in the creation of the Federal Reserve, and owned the International Mercantile Marine, which owned the White Star Line, and thus the Titanic.[14]

Morgan, who had attended the Titanic's launching in 1911, had booked a personal suite aboard the ship with his own private promenade deck and a bath equipped with specially designed cigar holders. He was reportedly booked on the ship's maiden voyage but instead cancelled the trip and remained at the French resort of Aix-les-Bains to enjoy his morning massages and sulfur baths.[14] His allegedly last-minute cancellation has fuelled speculation among conspiracy theorists that he knew of the ship's fate.[12][15] This theory has been refuted by Titanic experts George Behe, Don Lynch, and Ray Lepien who have each provided alternate, more widely accepted theories as to why Morgan cancelled his trip.[16]

Conspiracy theorist Stew Peters has advanced an alternative version of the theory, alleging the Rothschilds were behind both the Federal Reserve and the Titanic’s sinking. Peters also claimed that the Titan submersible implosion in 2023 was orchestrated via sabotage to prevent its own passengers from discovering that the Titanic was sunk by a "controlled demolition" instead of an iceberg.[17]

See also

[edit]

• Encyclopedia Titanica – Online encyclopedia about the Titanic
• Legends and myths regarding the Titanic – "Unsinkable" ship and other made-up details

References

[edit]

1. ^ Shetty, M. R. (1 February 2003). "Cause of death among passengers on the Titanic". The Lancet. 361 (9355): 438. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(03)12423-3. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 12573421. S2CID 45973512.
2. ^ a b Bruce Beveridge and Steve Hall (2004). Olympic & Titanic: The Truth Behind the Conspiracy. Infinity Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7414-1949-1.
3. ^ a b Mark Chirnside (2006). "Olympic & Titanic – An Analysis of the Robin Gardiner Conspiracy Theory" (PDF). Retrieved 4 October 2008.
4. ^ Robin Gardiner (1998). Titanic: The Ship That Never Sank?. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-2633-9.
5. ^ Gareth Russell (October 2025). The ship of dreams: the sinking of the Titanic and the end of the Edwardian era. Atria Books. pp. 106–107. ISBN 9781501176722.
6. ^ Chris Frame (2025). "The tale of two sisters: Separating fiction from fact". Retrieved 16 August 2025.
7. ^ Mike Brady Ocea. liner designs (2024). "Titanic Conspiracy: The Full Truth". Retrieved 16 August 2025.
8. ^ Hughes, Bill (2002). The Secret Terrorists. Tangerine, Fla.: Triumphant Truth. p. 59. OCLC 1036849244.
9. ^ "The Craziest Titanic Conspiracy Theories, Explained". HISTORY. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
10. ^ "Hoarding by Banks a Cause of Panic; This, Stewart Browne Says, Is the Objection to Aldrich Plan, Which Does Not Stop It". The New York Times. 18 October 1911. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
11. ^ "Isidor Straus Urges New Banking Plan; Replies to J.J. Hill's Attack on the National Reserve Association Scheme". The New York Times. 16 October 1911. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
12. ^ a b "The Craziest Titanic Conspiracy Theories, Explained". History.com. 25 February 2019.
13. ^ Spilman, Rick (7 September 2020). "QAnon Conspiracy: Did J.P. Morgan Sink the Titanic?". Old Salt Blog. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
14. ^ a b Daugherty, Greg. "Seven Famous People Who Missed the Titanic". Smithsonian. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
15. ^ "5 wild conspiracy theories surrounding the sinking of the Titanic". Business Insider.
16. ^ "Corrected-Fact Check-J.P. Morgan did not sink the Titanic to push forward plans for the U.S. Federal Reserve". Reuters. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
17. ^ "The RNC is partnering with the Republican Jewish Coalition and Rumble — a virulently antisemitic platform — for the third GOP debate". Media Matters for America. 16 October 2023.

Bibliography

[edit]

• Halpern, Samuel; Weeks, Charles (2011). "Description of the Damage to the Ship". In Halpern, Samuel (ed.). Report into the Loss of the SS Titanic: A Centennial Reappraisal. Stroud, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-6210-3.

External links

[edit]

• Was there a fire aboard Titanic?, CBC News
• Olympic & Titanic – An Analysis Of The Robin Gardiner Conspiracy Theory

v t e Titanic
Navigation bridge First class facilities Second and Third class facilities Grand Staircase Animals aboard
Sinking	Iceberg that sank the Titanic Changes in safety practices Lifeboats No. 1 No. 6 No. 14 Collapsible A Collapsible B Collapsible C Collapsible D British inquiry United States inquiry Wreck of the Titanic Legends and myths Conspiracy theories
Officers	Edward J. Smith (Captain) Henry T. Wilde (Chief Officer) William M. Murdoch (First Officer) Charles H. Lightoller (Second Officer) Herbert J. Pitman (Third Officer) Joseph G. Boxhall (Fourth Officer) Harold G. Lowe (Fifth Officer) James P. Moody (Sixth Officer)
Crew members	Deck George Beauchamp Frank Oliver Evans Frederick Fleet Robert Hichens Archie Jewell Thomas William Jones Reginald Lee Alfred Olliver George Thomas Rowe George Symons Engineering Frederick Barrett Joseph Bell William Mintram Arthur John Priest Victualling Harold Bride William Denton Cox Sidney Daniels Violet Jessop Charles Joughin Evelyn Marsden Hugh McElroy Jack Phillips Frank Winnold Prentice Frederick Dent Ray Annie Robinson Miscellaneous Musicians Wallace Hartley John Wesley Woodward Restaurant Luigi Gatti
Passengers	Fatalities Anthony Abbing Allison family Thomas Andrews Ramón Artagaveytia John Jacob Astor IV Robert James Bateman Jakob Birnbaum David John Bowen Archibald Butt Thomas Byles Ernest Courtenay Carter Roderick Chisholm Irene Colvin Corbett Walter Donald Douglas Richard Thomas Fry Annie Funk Jacques Futrelle George B. Goldschmidt Sidney Leslie Goodwin Benjamin Guggenheim John Harper Henry B. Harris Wallace Hartley Charles Melville Hays Alexander Holverson Ann Elizabeth Isham Edward Austin Kent Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche René Jacques Lévy Francis Davis Millet Harry Markland Molson Juozas Montvila Clarence Moore Josef Peruschitz Washington A. Roebling II Arthur Ryerson W. T. Stead Ida Straus Isidor Straus John B. Thayer Manuel Uruchurtu Ramírez Frank M. Warren Sr. George D. Wick George Dunton Widener Harry Elkins Widener Duane Williams George Henry Wright Survivors Rhoda Abbott Trevor Allison Lillian Asplund Madeleine Astor Ruth Elizabeth Becker Lawrence Beesley Karl Behr Ellen Bird Dickinson Bishop Mauritz Håkan Björnström-Steffansson Elsie Bowerman Margaret Brown Francis Browne Daniel Buckley Helen Churchill Candee Lucile Carter William E. Carter Paul Chevré Alice Cleaver Robert Williams Daniel Millvina Dean Edward Arthur Dorking Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon Antoinette Flegenheim May Futrelle Dorothy Gibson Frank John William Goldsmith Archibald Gracie IV Edith Haisman Henry S. Harper Renee Harris Esther Hart Eva Hart Margaret Bechstein Hays Masabumi Hosono J. Bruce Ismay Eleanor Ileen Johnson Louise Kink Fang Lang Margaret Mannion Michel Marcel Navratil Marjorie Anne Newell Alfred Nourney Arthur Peuchen Jane Quick Edith Rosenbaum Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes Emily Ryerson Agnes Sandström Frederic Kimber Seward Ellen Shine William Thomson Sloper Eloise Hughes Smith John Pillsbury Snyder Douglas Spedden Jack Thayer Marian Thayer Barbara West Ella Holmes White Eleanor Elkins Widener Charles Williams R. Norris Williams Marie Grice Young
Monumentsand memorials	Australia Bandstand (Ballarat) United Kingdom Engine Room Heroes (Liverpool) Engineers (Southampton) Musicians (Southampton) Titanic (Belfast) Orchestra (Liverpool) Phillips Garden (Godalming) United States Straus Park (New York City) Titanic (New York City) Titanic (Washington, D.C.) Butt–Millet Memorial Fountain (Washington, D.C.)
Popular culture(cultural legacy)	Books A Night to Remember (1955) Polar the Titanic Bear (1995) Films Saved from the Titanic (1912) In Nacht und Eis (1912) La hantise (1912) Atlantic (1929) Atlantik (1929) Titanic (1943) Titanic (1953) A Night to Remember (1958) The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) Raise the Titanic (1980) Secrets of the Titanic (1986) Titanica (1992) Titanic (1997) The Chambermaid on the Titanic (1997) The Legend of the Titanic (1999) Titanic: The Legend Goes On (2000) The Boy Who Saw the Iceberg (2000) Ghosts of the Abyss (2003) Tentacolino (2004) Titanic II (2010) The Six (2021) Titanic 666 (2022) Unsinkable (2024) Television "A Night to Remember" (1956) S.O.S. Titanic (1979) Titanic: The Complete Story (1994) Titanic (1996 miniseries) No Greater Love (1996) "A Flight to Remember" (Futurama) (1999) "The Mutants Are Revolting" (Futurama) (2010) Titanic (2012 miniseries) Titanic: Blood and Steel (2012) Saving the Titanic (2012) Titanic: The Aftermath (2012) Titanic Sinks Tonight (2025) Theater The Berg (1929) The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1960 musical) Titanic (1974) Titanic (1997 musical) Music "The Titanic (It Was Sad When That Great Ship Went Down)" (folk song) The Sinking of the Titanic (music composition) Titanic (soundtrack album) Back to Titanic (soundtrack album) "My Heart Will Go On" (song) "Nearer, My God, to Thee" (song) Titanique (musical parody) "Dance Band on the Titanic" (song) "Titanic" (song) Titanic Requiem (music composition) "Tempest" (song) Titanic Rising (album) Video games Search for the Titanic (1989) Titanic: Adventure Out of Time (1996) Titanic: Honor and Glory (TBA) Other "The Convergence of the Twain" (1912 poem) The Sinking of the Titanic (1978 poem) Titanic: The Board Game (1998)
Museums andexhibitions	SeaCity Museum (Southampton) Titanic Museum (Branson, Missouri) Titanic Museum (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee) Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (Halifax) Titanic Belfast Premier Exhibitions
Places	Titanic (Canada) Titanic Canyon Titanic Quarter, Belfast Cape Race, Newfoundland Fairview Lawn Cemetery Mount Olivet Cemetery (Halifax, Nova Scotia) Arrol Gantry Titanic, Oklahoma
Related	Ships RMS Baltic RMS Olympic HMHS Britannic SS Mount Temple RMS Carpathia SS Californian CS Mackay-Bennett CS Minia SS Birma SS Frankfurt Replica Titanic Titanic II Romandisea Titanic Law RMS Titanic Maritime Memorial Act Agreement Concerning the Shipwrecked Vessel RMS Titanic Others White Star Line David Blair George Bowyer James Cameron Harold Cottam Cyril Evans Herbert Haddock Stanley Lord Arthur Rostron Titanic Historical Society Titanic International Society Encyclopedia Titanica Halomonas titanicae Women and children first Robert Ballard La Circassienne au Bain Titan submersible implosion The Big Piece The Wreck of the Titan: Or, Futility
Category

v t e Conspiracy theories
List of conspiracy theories
Overview Core topics Antiscience Cabals deep state éminence grise power behind the throne Conspiracy Civil Criminal Political Crisis actors Deception Dystopia Espionage Global catastrophe scenarios Hidden message Pseudohistory Pseudoscience Secrecy Secret societies Urban legends and myths Psychology Attitude polarization Cognitive dissonance Communal reinforcement Confirmation bias Denialism Locus of control Manipulation Mass psychogenic illness moral panics Paranoia Psychological projection
Astronomy and outer space 2012 phenomenon Nibiru cataclysm Ancient astronauts Expanding Earth Apollo Moon landings Flat Earth Hollow Earth Hollow Moon Reptilians UFOs(Alleged aliens) Alien abduction Area 51 Black Knight satellite Cryptoterrestrial / Extraterrestrial / Interdimensional hypothesis Dulce Base Estimate of the Situation (1948) Lake Michigan Triangle MJ-12 Men in black Nazi UFOs Die Glocke Project Serpo Hoaxes Dundy County (1884) Maury Island (1947) Roswell (1947) Twin Falls (1947) Aztec, New Mexico (1949) Southern England (1967) Ilkley Moor (1987) Gulf Breeze (1987–88) Alien autopsy (1995) Morristown (2009)
Deaths and disappearances Assassination / suicide theories Zachary Taylor (1850) Ludwig II of Bavaria (1886) Louis Le Prince (1890) Lord Kitchener (1916) Tom Thomson (1917) Władysław Sikorski (1943) Benito Mussolini (1945) Adolf Hitler (1945) Subhas Chandra Bose (1945) Johnny Stompanato (1958) Marilyn Monroe (1962) John F. Kennedy (1963) Lee Harvey Oswald (1963) Lal Bahadur Shastri (1966) Harold Holt (1967) Martin Luther King Jr. (1968) Robert F. Kennedy (1968) Salvador Allende (1973) Aldo Moro (1978) Renny Ottolina (1978) Pope John Paul I (1978) Airey Neave (1979) Olof Palme (1986) Zia-ul-Haq (1988) GEC-Marconi scientists (1980s–90s) Turgut Özal (1993) Vince Foster (1993) Kurt Cobain (1994) Yitzhak Rabin (1995) Diana, Princess of Wales (1997) Vatican murders (1998) Nepalese royal family (2001) Yasser Arafat (2004) Benazir Bhutto (2007) Osama bin Laden (2011) Hugo Chávez (2013) Seth Rich (2016) Alejandro Castro (2018) Jeffrey Epstein (2019) Chan Yin-lam (2019) Sushant Singh Rajput (2020) John McAfee (2021) Accidents / disasters Mary Celeste (1872) RMS Titanic (1912) Great Kantō earthquake (1923) Lynmouth Flood (1952) Dyatlov Pass (1959) Lost Cosmonauts (1950s–60s) JAT Flight 367 (1972) United Air Lines Flight 553 (1972) Itavia Flight 870 (1980) South African Airways Flight 295 (1987) Khamar-Daban (1993) MS Estonia (1994) TWA Flight 800 (1996) EgyptAir Flight 990 (1999) Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (2014) Other cases Joan of Arc (1431) Roanoke Colony (1585) Yemenite children (1948–54) Elvis Presley (1977) Jonestown (1978) Body double hoax Paul McCartney Avril Lavigne Vladimir Putin Melania Trump
Energy, environment Agenda 21 Climate change denial false theories Free energy suppression Red mercury United States California drought manipulation HAARP 2024 Atlantic hurricanes Camp Fire disinformation
False flag allegations USS Maine (1898) RMS Lusitania (1915) Reichstag fire (1933) Pearl Harbor (1941) USS Liberty (1967) Lufthansa Flight 615 (1972) Widerøe Flight 933 (1982) KAL Flight 007 (1983) Mozambican presidential jet (1986) Pan Am Flight 103 (1988) Oklahoma City bombing (1995) 9/11 attacks (2001) advance knowledge WTC collapse Madrid train bombing (2004) London bombings (2005) Smolensk air disaster (2010) Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (2014) Denial of the 7 October attacks (2023)
Gender and sexuality Alpha/beta males Anti-LGBTQ Anti-gender movement Chemicals Drag panic Gay agenda Gay bomb Gay Nazis myth HIV/AIDS stigma United States Homintern Lavender Scare Recruitment Grooming Litter box hoax Transvestigation Finger pinching Gamergate Ideology in incel communities Larries / Gaylors Satanic panic Soy and masculinity
Health 5G misinformation Anti-vaccination Autism MMR Thiomersal In chiropractic Misinformation Aspartame Big Pharma Chemtrails COVID-19 Ivermectin Lab leak Vaccines Turbo cancer In Canada / Philippines / United States Ebola Electronic harassment Germ theory denialism GMOs HIV/AIDS denialism Origins theories Oral polio AIDS hypothesis Lepers' plot Medbeds SARS (2003) Water fluoridation Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning
Race, religion, ethnicity Bhagwa Love Trap CERN ritual hoax COVID-19 and xenophobia Freemasons French Revolution [fr] Gas chambers for Poles in Warsaw (1940s) Prisoners of war Germans (post-WWII) Priory of Sion Product labeling Halal Kosher Tartarian Empire War against Islam White genocide Antisemitic Andinia Plan Blood libel Cohen Plan Doctors' plot During the Black Death Epsilon Team George Soros Holocaust denial Trivialization International Jewish conspiracy Committee of 300 Cultural Bolshevism / Jewish Bolshevism Żydokomuna Judeo-Masonic plot The Protocols of the Elders of Zion World War II Z.O.G. Judeopolonia Killing of Jesus Kalergi Plan New World Order Rothschilds Stab-in-the-back myth Christian Bible conspiracy theory Christian persecution complex Christ myth theory Caesar’s Messiah Jesus bloodline Anti-Christian Anti-Catholic Vatican John Paul Giuseppe Siri Popish Plot Jesuits Islamophobic Counter-jihad Bihar human sacrifice Eurabia Great Replacement Love jihad Proposed "Islamo-leftism" inquiry Trojan Horse scandal Genocide denial /Denial of mass killings Armenian Assyrian Bangladesh Bosnian Cambodian Gaza Pallywood The Holocaust Holodomor Nanjing Rwandan Serbs during WWII
Regional Asia India Cow vigilante violence Pakistan Jinnahpur Philippines Tallano gold South Korea Finger-pinching Thailand Finland Plot Americas(outside the United States) Argentina Andinia Plan Canada Avro Arrow cancellation Trudeau-Castro conspiracy Leuchter report Peru Casa Matusita Venezuela Daktari Ranch affair Golpe Azul Middle East / North Africa In the Arab world 10 agorot Cairo fire Kissinger Plan in Lebanon Israel-related animal theories Iran Western-backed Iranian Revolution Israel Pallywood Russia Alaska payment Dulles' Plan Golden billion Petrograd Military Organization Rasputin Ukraine bioweapons Turkey 2016 coup attempt Ergenekon Operation Sledgehammer Gezi Park protests Sèvres syndrome Üst akıl Other European Euromyth Georgia Global War Party Germany Vril Society Ireland German Plot Lithuania Statesmen Roman Republic First Catilinarian conspiracy Spain Mano Negra affair Sweden Lilla Saltsjöbadsavtalet UK Clockwork Orange plot Elm Guest House Harold Wilson Voting pencil United States 4 AM club Barack Obama Citizenship Religion Parentage "Obamagate" / Spygate Biden–Ukraine Black helicopters CIA and JFK CIA assistance to bin Laden Clinton body count Cultural Marxism Election denial movement FBI secret society FEMA camps Georgia Guidestones Jade Helm 15 Montauk Project Philadelphia Experiment Pizzagate The Plan Project Azorian QAnon Pastel Incidents Saddam–al-Qaeda Sandy Hook (2012) Springfield pet-eating hoax Trump–Ukraine "Vast right-wing conspiracy" Vietnam War POW/MIA issue / Stab-in-the-back myth 2020 election Italygate "Pence Card" Maricopa County ballot audit Stop the Steal
Other Dead Internet theory NESARA/GESARA New Coke Phantom time / New chronology Shadow government claims Bilderberg Illuminati New World Order synarchism Shakespearean authorship Pseudolaw Admiralty law Freeman on the land movement Redemption movement Sovereign citizens Strawman theory Tax protesters Satirical Acre Bielefeld Birds Aren't Real Li's field Ted Cruz–Zodiac Killer meme Epstein didn't kill himself
See also Argument from ignorance Conspiracy Encyclopedia Conspiracy fiction Conspirituality Dogma pseudoskepticism Falsifiability Fringe science Historical negationism Online youth radicalization Paranormal Prejudice Hate speech Radicalization Science by press conference Superstition