How we source, verify, and update the atlas

1. Data sources

Every country page draws on a standard set of primary and authoritative sources, supplemented by country-specific references for each flagship page. Statistics, historical claims, and cultural context are cross-checked against at least one authoritative source before publication.

• UNESCO World Heritage Centre — the definitive list of World Heritage Sites, Intangible Cultural Heritage inscriptions, and biosphere reserves, by country.
• The World Bank Open Data — GDP, population, sectoral breakdowns, development indicators. All economic figures on country pages use World Bank or national-statistics-office data with the reference year specified.
• National statistics agencies — the primary source for population, demographics, and national economic indicators (INSEE for France, IBGE for Brazil, ONS for the UK, Istat for Italy, and dozens of equivalents).
• Central banks — for current exchange rates, inflation, and monetary policy context (Banque de France, Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, and equivalents).
• Official tourism boards — the ground truth for tourism statistics, seasonal timings, and practical travel information (Atout France, VisitBritain, Tourism Australia, JNTO, and equivalents).
• Ministry or agency publications — for specialised topics (ministries of culture, environment agencies, meteorological services).
• Encyclopaedia Britannica — for historical and cultural background, used as a secondary consolidating source rather than primary.
• The REST Countries API — for consolidated cross-country data on calling codes, capitals, currencies, borders, and time zones. This data is re-verified against official sources before publication.

For geographic data, we use the world-atlas topojson and OpenStreetMap datasets. Country shapes, borders, and ISO codes follow ISO 3166-1.

2. Fact-checking process

Each flagship country page (the 1,500-2,500 word long-form treatments) goes through the following checks before publication:

• Every numerical claim is traced back to at least one primary source. Statistics include the reference year in the text, not just a footnote.
• Every historical date is cross-checked against at least two sources. Where dates are contested (e.g., "Vietnam's reunification" vs "fall of Saigon") we flag the terminology explicitly.
• Every superlative ("largest", "oldest", "first") is verified against an authoritative source, and dated where the superlative may change (e.g., "the world's fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP in 2024").
• Every direct quote and attribution is verified or removed.
• Controversial claims — historical interpretations, territorial disputes, political characterisations — are sourced to specific authoritative bodies rather than presented as undisputed fact.

3. How pages are dated and updated

Every country page carries a pubDate (publication date) and an updatedDate (most recent revision). Both dates are shown in the page byline.

• Economic statistics are updated annually, using the most recent World Bank or national statistics figures.
• Political leadership (heads of state, prime ministers) is updated promptly after elections or changes in government.
• Tourism numbers are updated annually from national tourism board data.
• UNESCO World Heritage inscriptions are updated after each annual committee session.
• Travel advisories — where we mention them — should always be cross-checked against your government's live travel advisory service before booking.

When a significant claim is corrected, we note the correction at the bottom of the page with the date of correction.

4. Translation and localisation

TerraLenses publishes in three languages — English, French, and Spanish — with English as the source language. Translations are currently handled through a combination of machine translation and editorial review; the translated versions mirror the structure of the English pages and use locally appropriate conventions (metric units, local number formats, regional terminology).

Because the source language is English, the French and Spanish pages may lag the English versions by a short period when a country page is revised. The updated date shown on each localised page reflects its own last revision.

5. What AI does (and doesn't do) here

We use AI tools — in particular large language models — for research synthesis, drafting assistance, and editorial review. No page on TerraLenses is generated by AI alone and published without human review.

The typical flow for a flagship country page: the author identifies the scope and structure, drafts a first version (sometimes with AI assistance for research synthesis), fact-checks against primary sources, edits for tone and accuracy, and publishes. The result is writing that is the author's responsibility — AI is a research assistant, not an author.

We will never use AI to fabricate quotes, attribute statements to people who didn't make them, or invent statistics. If AI generates something plausible-sounding that turns out to be wrong, the error is on us for not catching it; please report it.

6. Reporting errors

If you find a factual error on the site, please email [email protected] or use the contact page. Include:

• The URL of the page in question
• The specific statement that is wrong
• A source supporting the correction

Corrections are usually made within a few days. Significant corrections are dated at the bottom of the page.

7. What we don't do

• No paid placement. Country rankings, featured destinations, and page prominence are editorial decisions. No one pays to appear on TerraLenses.
• No affiliate commissions on hotel bookings, tour operators, or travel products. Advertising on the site is through generic display ads (Google AdSense), not sponsored placement.
• No undisclosed review copies. When destinations or services are covered, the coverage is based on publicly available information or personal travel, not sponsored trips.
• No scraping user data. See our privacy policy for details — we use privacy-friendly Plausible analytics (no cookies, no personal data) and do not sell, share, or resell any reader information.