Travel inspiration is everywhere, but not every tip is trustworthy. Learn how to spot travel misinformation online, verify sources, and plan with confidence.

Various blogs and platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok have made travel even more popular than it once was.

When we see other people going to the places, seeing the sights, and enjoying the cultures in far-flung places, the desire and inspiration to do the same rises in us too. But how do we separate the travel inspiration we find online from the plenty of travel misinformation online?

With the rise of influencers and AI, finding genuine travel tips has become a lot more difficult than one would have thought. Now people can fabricate tips, information, and even images and videos of various locations, which has made trusting travel blogs, vlogs, and influencers a lot more difficult.

Photo by Kar-Tr via iStock by Getty Images

Check Travel Blogs For AI

A good way to check whether a tourism blog is prone to misinformation is by running it through an AI detector tool. The higher the percentage of automation, the more prone to misinformation the blog would be.

LLMs can make mistakes, and the information they provide is not only generic, but they may also hallucinate. Hallucinations are an error that large language models face when they are faced with questions they don’t have an answer to.

This can be quite common for tourist blogs, as information is subject to change, or some specific things may not be in the pool of data it has learned from. In such cases, it will try to generate something following patterns.

Instead of giving the prompter facts, it will fabricate something that sounds plausible. So, any blog with a lower than 70% human score is too much AI to be absolutely certain that the information is right.

Look for Lived Experience

Anyone talking about travel but not being able to give you more than just surface-level information is bluffing. Any description of a place without any sensory description is suspicious, because it’s either not well described and hence not worth your time, or it is just copied off from information online.

If it’s a beach, the writer should be able to describe what the grains of sand feel like under their feet, or the sensation of cool waves breaking onto their ankles. Any written travel inspiration would have these sensory cues; otherwise, why would anyone feel inspired by it?

So, whether it’s a blog, a social caption, or even the script of a podcast talking about travel, the person has to be able to describe their lived experience.

Another way of doing so is by telling small stories from their trip. What are the little obstacles they faced or small anecdotes they want to share with their audience? These are what the reader wants anyway. They want the real insights from the travel blogs.

Spotting Misinformation Manually

If you are going to manually understand whether your latest travel inspiration is real and feasible, you must be wary of posts that have sensational, clickbait headlines.

If the idea is to shock you or make you aware of some danger, take it with a pinch of salt. These are often false or at least exaggarated, and are not the best source of information. Some people present headlines like that just for clout.

Another issue to watch out for is vague details. If you are looking at a guide, but the information is very abstract, without naming specific places and experiences, like intentionally keeping the idea blurry and generic, there is a high chance the blog is made up. Keep an eye out for real, specific details.

Another issue is the lack of author details. Legitimate travel writers have real names, portfolios, and a clear presence online. If they don’t even seem like real people, know that the blog shouldn’t be believed.

Encourage kids to document their travels in cheap notebooks. You can also let them try their hands at photography.

Awareness About Deepfakes, Generated, Or Stolen Images

Thanks to AI, people can easily fabricate images and videos.

The key way to avoid getting fooled by these is by knowing what makes them different from real images. Keep an eye out for weird hand shapes and unusual-looking body parts. The backgrounds can also give you some signs, especially when they look unnatural or too blurry.

We naturally have an instinct to be wary of what looks unnatural; lean on that gut feeling, and you will be able to tell what’s real and what simply isn’t. Deepfakes are particularly good at seeming plausible, so be careful with hyper-realistic photos that still seem a bit off or overly polished.

Some photos might be stolen or even be stock images. Really look at the photos, and think about whether you have seen it elsewhere. Stock photos are generally very generic, so don’t believe any content that uses stock photos instead of actual evidence.

Finding Real Information

Any genuine author or travel influencer will have an array of evidence of being genuine. Whether it’s past blogs and videos, or a verified online presence, they will display genuine information.

You can use official government or city tourism websites to get accurate information about locations, rules, safety, and events.

Community reviews are also great sources of information, as they usually come from active travelers who have had first-hand experiences. Alternatively, cross-check facts from various sources and make sure that the information is solid before making travel plans.

Final Thoughts

There is plenty of fake news about tourism and misinformation about travel out there. You need to be aware of how to make sure that the inspiration you have stumbled upon is real.

People post a lot of clickbait articles and dramatic posts to attract an audience, but these are often not accurate. Check for generated information and images, and also cross-check the facts against other sources to ensure what you have found is accurate.

Opt for popular travel influencers, blogs with verified authors, and government sites for tourism information to be certain that you do your planning properly.

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