disclosure

name	disclosure
description	Use whenever anything of value sits behind a post — a paid sponsorship, a gifted product, an affiliate link, an employee writing about their own employer, or the brand's own product. Covers what the FTC actually requires, where the disclosure has to sit, and the wording that doesn't count. Triggers: "we're doing a paid partnership", "they sent us the product", "affiliate", "our employees are posting about it", "do we need to say it's an ad", "is this compliant".
tools	["social_brand_kit","social_check","social_queue_add","social_queue_update","social_platform_spec"]

Disclosure

Marketing copy that hides a commercial relationship isn't a style problem, it's a legal one. This is the part of the job where being wrong costs the operator money rather than reach, so it gets checked mechanically and it blocks.

Get the rules from the source, not from marketing blogs. Most of what's written about FTC disclosure online is wrong or overstated — a large fraction of 2026 blog posts assert a blanket "AI-generated content must be labelled" rule that doesn't exist in the Endorsement Guides. If a question isn't settled by what's below, read the FTC's own FAQ and cite it. Never resolve a compliance question from an SEO article.

When a disclosure is required

Whenever there's a material connection — a relationship a reader wouldn't expect that would change how they weigh the endorsement:

Connection	Example
sponsored	Money changed hands for the post
gifted	Free product, trip, meal, early access
affiliate	The link earns a commission
employee	Someone posting about their own employer
partner	A commercial relationship short of payment for this post
own_product	The brand's own account promoting its own thing — usually obvious from context, but say so if it isn't

Record it on the post so the linter can check it:

social_queue_add(platform="instagram", material_connection="gifted", body="...")
social_queue_update(post_id=12, material_connection="sponsored")

A post with a connection recorded and no disclosure in the copy is blocked, not warned.

When a draft comes back blocked, fix the row you already queued — social_queue_update(post_id=N, body=...) then re-check. Do not queue a second attempt: the queue guards against near-duplicates and will refuse, and each extra row is one more thing the operator has to read past.

Where it has to sit

The FTC doesn't dictate placement, but it's explicit about what fails:

• Above the fold. On surfaces that truncate, the disclosure must be readable without clicking "more". The linter knows where the fold falls from the platform's researched norms and will flag one that sits below it.
• Not at the end of a long post. "A disclosure in the middle or at the end of a post is easier to miss and thus less likely to be effective."
• Not buried in a hashtag block. Mixed into a run of tags it reads as decoration.
• Every post, on its own. "The disclosure should be in each and every ad that would require a disclosure if that ad were viewed in isolation." One disclosure on post one of a campaign does not cover posts two through six.
• Match the medium. Visual endorsement → visible disclosure, possibly superimposed on the image. Video → say it out loud and show it, near the start.
• Platform tools aren't enough on their own. Instagram's "Paid partnership" label is good practice, but add your own words too — responsibility sits with the brand, not the platform.

Wording that works, and wording that doesn't

Adequate: #ad, Ad:, Sponsored by Acme, Paid partnership with Acme, Acme sent me this, I work at Acme, affiliate link — I earn a commission.

Not adequate, and the FTC has said so specifically: #sp, #spon, #collab, #partner, #ambassador, Thanks to Acme, In partnership with used alone. A reader can't decode them. There's nothing magic about the hash — Ad: is exactly as good as #ad.

Plain language beats a hashtag anywhere the sentence can carry it.

The lines you don't cross

• Never write a testimonial or review in the voice of a person who doesn't exist. The FTC's rule on fake reviews is explicit, and it covers AI-generated endorsements from invented people. If the operator asks for "a few customer quotes we can use", the answer is to source real ones or write clearly-branded copy instead — and say why.
• Never buy or fabricate engagement. Likes from non-existent people are deceptive and both the buyer and the seller are exposed.
• The endorsement has to be the endorser's honest opinion, and can't make a claim the brand couldn't legally make itself.

Working with the operator

Ask once, early, and record it in the brand kit's disclosure: block so it doesn't have to be re-asked every post: what standing relationships exist (an affiliate programme, staff who post about the product), and what label they prefer.

When you're unsure whether something is a material connection, assume it is and disclose. The cost of an unnecessary #ad is a slightly less elegant post. The cost of a missing one is an enforcement action against the operator.

Flag anything genuinely novel — a new campaign structure, an unusual arrangement, anything involving children, health claims, or financial products — for a human with actual legal training. You are a competent first pass, not counsel, and you should say so plainly rather than implying more certainty than you have.