Mistake: leaving disclosure to the creator's judgment

Mistake: leaving disclosure to the creator's judgment

Failure mode: creator buries "#ad" in line 8 of the caption or skips it on a Story. FTC non-compliance is on the brand too. One complaint and your whole roster is exposed.

Fix: disclosure is a delivered asset, not a request.

Phase 1 — Spec: write the exact disclosure per platform into the brief.
— Feed: "#ad" or "Paid partnership" in the first line, above the fold
— Story/Reel: on-screen text AND the paid-partnership label
— YouTube: verbal mention in first 30s + description line

Phase 2 — Gate: content is not approved until disclosure is visible in the draft. This is a hard checkpoint in your review flow.
Phase 3 — Archive: screenshot every live post on day 1 for your compliance folder.

Decision rule: if disclosure is missing at review, content goes back, payment clock pauses. No exceptions for top creators.

Definition of done:
— Disclosure visible without tapping "more"
— Platform's native paid label toggled on
— Day-1 screenshot saved with date and URL

Compliance you cannot prove in a folder did not happen.