Titan coverage criticized by former US President Obama

By Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#USA, June 29, 2023 – As the world reels from two separate marine disasters off the coast of Canada and Greece respectively, critics are questioning the varying responses of authorities and even media coverage of the two events.

When five men, including a 19 year old went missing in a submersible (the Titan) off Cape Cod on Sunday June 18, within 24 hours the US Coast Guard, Canadian Forces, and others were called in, planes, sonar devices, and boats scoured the ocean for days to find and rescue the men, four millionaires and a pilot, before they ran out of air.

News organizations across the globe ran live updates of the search with each new update pushed to the forefront of the news cycle and the eventual discovery that the men had perished made headlines internationally.

Four days earlier, on June 14th, a ship carrying between 400 and 700 migrants from Libya sank off the coast of Greece, only 104 have been confirmed rescued so far. While it initially received significant coverage, it did not compare to the nail biting updates afforded to the search for the Titan. Accounts of the night remain murky but several survivors of the incident point to the Greek Coast Guard as failing to act for hours and when they did, exacerbating the disaster.

One told CNN  “The third time they towed us, the boat swayed to the right and everyone was screaming, people began falling into the sea, and the boat capsized and no one saw anyone anymore,” he said. “Brothers were separated, cousins were separated.”

The account of being towed is repeated by other survivors, the Greek Coast Guard denied touching the migrant boat but they were aware it was in trouble for many hours before attempting to help.

Despite the massive loss of life including an estimated 100 children, the event was overshadowed by the near rapid pace of coverage of the Titan.  Former US President Barack Obama spoke out against the lopsided reporting while speaking in Greece on June 22nd with the Stavros Foundation

“There’s a potential tragedy unfolding with a submarine that is getting minute to minute coverage all around the world and it’s understandable because we all want and pray that those folks are rescued but the fact is that, that’s gotten so much more attention than 700 people who sank.”