The influencer who fooled everyone: she's not the first to have traveled the world
When we decide to try our hand at great, exhilarating or unique challenges, are we doing it for us or for general approval? Doing the [...]
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When we decide to try our hand at big, exhilarating or unique challenges, are we doing it for us or for general approval? Does going around the world without entrusting the evidence to social media have the same value as doing it by telling our followers about it in a few posts? This is a question that comes naturally to us nowadays, considering our visceral connection to the media.
Proposing a striking example of how an undertaking that took place without digital evidence can be completely ignored, considered nonexistent, in the face of one that is well documented on social media, is Audrey Walsworth, 87-year-old from Naples, Florida. 2017 saw a 20-year-old named Cassie De Pecol claim the title of "the first woman to travel to every country in the world." All discovered by pure chance on the Today Show. A blatant lie. Which Ms. Walsworth knows for a fact, having completed this exact historical journey long before De Pecol could even plan her own. The well-known influencer is not the first to have completed this feat, or the first to have done it alone. Her record is inherent in the mere fact that she is the only one to have chosen to be a self-proclaimed record holder on social media. A bold move, which now places her at the center of a legal dispute.
Who is Cassie De Pecol
When it comes to Cassie De Pecol reference is made to a celebrity in the travel world. The young woman has thousands of followers on her own socials and has made travel her business over the years. She has written a book; attended a TED Talk; hosts a podcast; and runs a fitness app. Travelers United (a consumer protection group), however, accuses her of amassing a huge following by repeating false statements.
Her self-proclaimed status is part of a public portrayal of herself that is being exploited to sell products, achieve recurring gains and, the group claims, actually defraud her followers. The alleged first woman to travel around the world was able to promote prestigious brands, themselves (alleged) victims of his behavior. His story was also reported by a variety of press organs, which were themselves defrauded and, at the same time, guilty of not researching more thoroughly.
Cassie De Pecol's defense
On the pages of the Washington Post one can read her brief defense, best articulated in the courtroom. She explains, "This is an unfounded attack on me and the results I have achieved. I intend to challenge what unfortunately appears to be a rehashing of the charges that have already been made against me in the past."
Travelers United charges her with unfair and deceptive advertising and hopes to gain a landmark legal precedent in the industry. Content creators must be held accountable for their claims. Cassie De Pecol has stayed in facilities in exchange for creating content, offered advertising on her own channels, and received large sums from her sponsors, greatly responsible for her travels from 2015 onward.
It is clear how self-declaring herself as the first woman in the world to complete a round-the-world trip allowed her to stand out from the giant mass of competing travel influencers. This is not the first time someone has tried to point out the young traveler's lies. Nina Sedano is the woman who has traveled the most in Germany and completed her world tour before 2011. She admits that she was not the first and documented this in her book Die Landersammlerin. She tried to contact De Pecol, but she never responded.
The real first woman to go around the world
Who, then, is the first woman to have completed the round-the-world tour? It was probably Dorothy Pine, who spent a good part of his life traveling. All during the 20th century. Enterprise certified by the Travelers Century Club.
De Pecol blocked all critics who tried to inform or attack her. The matter will be resolved in court but the evidence is against her. Other witnesses have had their say, such as Lee Abbamonte, with whom the influencer had an e-mail exchange, later broken off when the uncomfortable subject was raised. To date, Guinness World Records claims how there is no record for the first woman to travel to any country. In 2018, Taylor Demonbreun also broke both of De Pecol's records, namely the best female time to visit all sovereign countries and the overall record.
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