The Titanic disaster was, arguably, the biggest news story of 1912. So it’s no surprise that the budding movie newsreel industry was anxious to distribute film of the ship, her crew and her passengers to movie theaters worldwide. There was a lot of money to be made.
The challenge, of course, was that Titanic was on her maiden voyage, and film footage—and even still photos—were virtually non existent. What to do? Well, like many modern media companies, the 1912 newsreel companies simply used fake and doctored footage. Who would ever know? (Other than us.)
Above is one such newsreel. Your job is to decide which scenes are real and which are fake. Here’s a hint: look for the scratched-out area removing the name “Olympic.”
