Editorial policy

Last updated: 13 November 2026.

This page explains how The Offbeat Map researches, checks and corrects what it publishes. It complements the About page.

Who decides what gets covered

Vinicius Alencar, the author, picks the topics. A topic goes in when it answers a concrete question a reader would type into Google, like “is tipping rude in Japan?” or “is it illegal to flush the toilet at night in Switzerland?”, and when a reliable source exists to answer it. No article is paid for by companies, destinations or governments, and none is written in exchange for a product or a trip.

How we research

• We start from the primary source: the published law, the tourism authority, the city or national government, or the official rulebook.
• We then cross-check with recognised press and reference institutions. Wikipedia helps us find sources but is never the only source for a number.
• Popular myths are treated as myths: when a “quirky rule” isn’t actually in the law, the article says so and shows where the story comes from.
• Every number, date, law or amount a reader couldn’t easily check appears with its source in the Sources section at the end of the article.

Information that changes

Prices, fees, visa rules and opening hours change. So we state the year each figure refers to and point to the official source to confirm before you travel. When an article gets a real revision, an Updated date appears at the top next to the publication date. We don’t change that date for cosmetic edits.

Images

Photos come from Unsplash and follow the Unsplash licence. The photographer’s name and a link to the photo appear in each article’s caption. We don’t use images copied from other sites. Every alt text describes what is in the photo.

Corrections

If you spot a mistake, write through the Contact page with the article, the passage and, if you have it, the source. When an error is confirmed, the text is fixed and gets a closing line with the date and what changed. Factual errors are corrected as soon as possible, without hiding that they existed.

Advertising and independence

If the site shows ads, Google chooses them, they will be labelled as ads, and they won’t influence what we write. See the details in the Privacy policy.