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28 May 2026
Middle East Crisis: AI Fake News Compressing Crisis Decisions for Travel Firms
Travel Daily Media (TDM): During the Middle East crisis, how did disinformation and AI-generated fake news complicate decision-making for travel management companies?
Suzanne Sangiovese (SS): As the conflict escalated, travel management companies (TMCs) faced immediate and visible operational pressure. However, a less visible yet equally significant challenge was the information environment surrounding the crisis. The greatest complication for TMCs wasn’t merely identifying misleading content; rather, it was the effect that misinformation had on the speed of decision-making. During the crisis, operational conditions changed rapidly due to airspace closures, rerouting, and cancellations. At the same time, social media was inundated with AI-generated images, recycled footage, and unverified claims.
This situation exemplifies how a crisis can create a challenging operational environment, as travel decisions often cannot wait for complete certainty. TMCs still need to advise clients, assess traveller exposure, and make routing decisions in real time. The challenge is that misinformation hinders the verification process precisely when organisations need to act swiftly.
This is an issue that the industry will increasingly face. In high-pressure situations, access to verified information along with sufficient context and analysis is crucial for making confident decisions.
TDM: Why is verified travel risk intelligence becoming as important as operational response in fulfilling duty of care responsibilities today?
(SS): The industry once faced a scarcity of information; now it grapples with information overload. During major events, organisations can access vast data but often struggle to quickly verify what is relevant, accurate, and operationally useful to support decision-making. While operational responses remain essential, they are reactive. Verified travel risk intelligence enables organisations to make well-informed decisions before issues escalate, as events unfold and immediately afterwards.
During crises, TMCs have worked tirelessly, managing call volumes significantly above normal, rerouting passengers, and maintaining client communication around the clock. This effort is commendable. However, relying on unreliable intelligence for operational strength can be risky, as decisions are made rapidly based on incomplete or inaccurate information. Today, the effectiveness of operational response increasingly depends on the quality of the intelligence it relies on.
TDM: In a fast-moving crisis, how can TMCs distinguish between authentic advisories and convincing fake information before making routing or safety decisions?
(SS): Verification processes cannot be improvised once a disruption begins. When clients require answers and operational teams are under pressure, there is no time to evaluate the credibility of sources from scratch. Trusted sources, escalation pathways, and verification workflows must be established before a crisis starts and integrated into operational processes.
The main challenge organisations face is how to quickly validate and corroborate information to take appropriate action. Those who effectively navigate the early hours of a crisis have already committed to reliable sources before the crisis hits, such as government advisories, credible human-verified intelligence providers, and direct communications from carriers.
An effective operational verification process is crucial in these situations. For instance, if an airspace closure occurs, best practice is to validate that information against communications from airlines and verified intelligence sources before making rerouting decisions.
The same principle applies to security incidents that circulate on social media. The operations team should refrain from acting on unverified reports until they can be corroborated through trusted channels. This ensures that organisations are making decisions based on verified information and can confidently support their actions in critical situations.
Ultimately, the organisations that perform best during crises are those that have already defined trusted sources, established escalation workflows, and set verification thresholds before disruptions occur.
Check out the full interview in Travel Daily Media.
Suzanne Sangiovese (SS): As the conflict escalated, travel management companies (TMCs) faced immediate and visible operational pressure. However, a less visible yet equally significant challenge was the information environment surrounding the crisis. The greatest complication for TMCs wasn’t merely identifying misleading content; rather, it was the effect that misinformation had on the speed of decision-making. During the crisis, operational conditions changed rapidly due to airspace closures, rerouting, and cancellations. At the same time, social media was inundated with AI-generated images, recycled footage, and unverified claims.
This situation exemplifies how a crisis can create a challenging operational environment, as travel decisions often cannot wait for complete certainty. TMCs still need to advise clients, assess traveller exposure, and make routing decisions in real time. The challenge is that misinformation hinders the verification process precisely when organisations need to act swiftly.
This is an issue that the industry will increasingly face. In high-pressure situations, access to verified information along with sufficient context and analysis is crucial for making confident decisions.
TDM: Why is verified travel risk intelligence becoming as important as operational response in fulfilling duty of care responsibilities today?
(SS): The industry once faced a scarcity of information; now it grapples with information overload. During major events, organisations can access vast data but often struggle to quickly verify what is relevant, accurate, and operationally useful to support decision-making. While operational responses remain essential, they are reactive. Verified travel risk intelligence enables organisations to make well-informed decisions before issues escalate, as events unfold and immediately afterwards.
During crises, TMCs have worked tirelessly, managing call volumes significantly above normal, rerouting passengers, and maintaining client communication around the clock. This effort is commendable. However, relying on unreliable intelligence for operational strength can be risky, as decisions are made rapidly based on incomplete or inaccurate information. Today, the effectiveness of operational response increasingly depends on the quality of the intelligence it relies on.
TDM: In a fast-moving crisis, how can TMCs distinguish between authentic advisories and convincing fake information before making routing or safety decisions?
(SS): Verification processes cannot be improvised once a disruption begins. When clients require answers and operational teams are under pressure, there is no time to evaluate the credibility of sources from scratch. Trusted sources, escalation pathways, and verification workflows must be established before a crisis starts and integrated into operational processes.
The main challenge organisations face is how to quickly validate and corroborate information to take appropriate action. Those who effectively navigate the early hours of a crisis have already committed to reliable sources before the crisis hits, such as government advisories, credible human-verified intelligence providers, and direct communications from carriers.
An effective operational verification process is crucial in these situations. For instance, if an airspace closure occurs, best practice is to validate that information against communications from airlines and verified intelligence sources before making rerouting decisions.
The same principle applies to security incidents that circulate on social media. The operations team should refrain from acting on unverified reports until they can be corroborated through trusted channels. This ensures that organisations are making decisions based on verified information and can confidently support their actions in critical situations.
Ultimately, the organisations that perform best during crises are those that have already defined trusted sources, established escalation workflows, and set verification thresholds before disruptions occur.
Check out the full interview in Travel Daily Media.
