Editorial & Transparency

ExplWorld is an independent publication about travel, places and the forces shaping how people move through the world.

Our work ranges from destination reporting and field dispatches to interviews, analysis and investigations into the businesses, policies, institutions and decisions that affect travellers and the communities they visit.

We believe travel journalism should do more than tell people where to go. It should help readers understand how places work, who makes decisions about them, who benefits from tourism and development, and who carries their costs.

ExplWorld does not advocate for governments, companies, tourism organisations or campaign groups. Our responsibility is to our readers and to the evidence we can verify.

Accuracy is more important than speed.

• Evidence before false balance. Relevant parties should have a fair opportunity to explain their position, but competing claims are not given equal weight when the evidence does not support equal weight.
• Primary sources first. Where possible, we work from court records, legislation, public filings, official statistics, contracts, regulatory decisions, original datasets, interviews and other primary material.
• Claims are attributed. A statement made by a government, company, organisation or individual remains that party's position unless ExplWorld independently verifies it.
• Right of reply. People and organisations facing substantial criticism or serious allegations are normally contacted before publication and given a meaningful opportunity to respond.
• Context matters. Quotations, statistics and documents should not be presented in a way that materially changes their meaning.

Editorial decisions are made by ExplWorld Editorial, independently of advertisers, tourism boards, hotels, airlines, commercial partners and other outside organisations.

Advertising, affiliate relationships, sponsorships, travel partnerships, hosted trips, subscriptions, licensing and commercial programmes do not provide a right to influence our reporting, recommendations, headlines or conclusions.

Participation in ExplWorld Verified or ExplWorld Verified Plus does not guarantee inclusion in editorial coverage, favourable treatment or protection from criticism. A commercial partner may also become the subject of an ExplWorld investigation.

Commercial partners do not receive pre-publication approval rights over independent journalism. Where a material commercial relationship is relevant to a reader's assessment of a story, we disclose it.

ExplWorld prefers named sources where practical and safe. Significant factual claims should, where possible, be supported by documentary evidence, data or independent corroboration.

We distinguish between what a source knows directly, what they believe or interpret, and what they have heard from someone else.

Major reports may include a Sources & Documents section so readers can inspect important public material underlying the reporting.

There are circumstances in which publication of a source's or reporter's identity could create a genuine risk of physical harm, detention, retaliation, loss of employment or another serious consequence.

ExplWorld may therefore withhold a legal name, source identity, exact location, occupation, employer or other identifying detail; use a professional pseudonym; or use a protective or collective byline.

Responsible ExplWorld editors know and verify the legal identity of reporters working under protective pseudonyms. We do not invent false biographies, credentials or reporting experience.

We investigate the systems behind travel: power, money, borders, regulation, access and accountability.

Investigations may involve interviews with competing parties, field reporting, court and regulatory records, company filings, government documents, original datasets and cross-border reporting.

We do not promise sources a particular conclusion in exchange for information. We do not pay sources for allegations, confidential information or evidence. This does not prevent legitimate payment to commissioned journalists, photographers, researchers, translators, fixers or other professional contributors.

Before publication, subjects of substantial criticism are normally provided with the substance of relevant claims or detailed questions and given reasonable time to respond.

Significant investigations may include an About this reporting note explaining how the work was reported, which parties were approached, which documents were reviewed and why certain identities were withheld.

Material corrections remain visible with the article and normally explain what was wrong and what changed. Minor spelling, formatting or grammatical fixes that do not alter meaning may be made without a formal correction note.

Every Journal article may include a Report an error link. Correction requests can also be sent to corrections@explworld.com.

Travel journalism can involve flights, accommodation, access or other support provided by tourism boards, airlines, hotels, tour operators or other organisations.

Accepting such support does not give the provider a right to approve coverage or determine editorial conclusions. We do not accept arrangements that require positive coverage, guaranteed publication or removal of legitimate criticism.

Where hosted travel or other material support is relevant to understanding how a story was produced, ExplWorld discloses it.

Advertising cannot buy editorial coverage.

ExplWorld does not run programmatic advertising. Our work is funded through affiliate relationships, sponsorships, subscriptions, licensing, travel partnerships and programmes including ExplWorld Verified and ExplWorld Verified Plus.

Sponsored or commercial material is separated from independent journalism and labelled where readers could otherwise confuse the two.

ExplWorld may use artificial intelligence and automation to assist with transcription, translation, research organisation, data processing and newsroom workflows.

Material facts and quotations intended for publication must be verified against original material or other reliable evidence. ExplWorld does not use generative AI to fabricate interviews, quotations, reporting events, evidence or documentary photographs.

ExplWorld is a trading name of by veru s.r.o., a company registered in Slovakia, company number 53736222, VAT number SK2121475048, with registered office at Lermontovova 911/3, 811 05 Bratislava, Slovakia.

ExplWorld is funded through commercial activities including affiliate relationships, subscriptions, licensing, sponsored content, travel partnerships and ExplWorld commercial products and services. ExplWorld does not run programmatic advertising.

ExplWorld does not currently rely on donations or grants as a funding model. Funding does not provide external organisations with editorial control.

Editorial responsibility is exercised by ExplWorld Editorial.

ExplWorld may work with editors, reporters, photographers, researchers and contributors in different parts of the world. Some contributors may use protective bylines or pseudonyms where public attribution could create a genuine security risk.

General enquiries: hello@explworld.com. For information relevant to an investigation, see our Secure Tips guidance.