Also called paid partnership disclosure, ad disclosure
Sponsorship disclosure is stating clearly that content is paid for, which is a legal obligation in most markets and falls on the creator.
The rule across most jurisdictions is the same in substance: a reasonable person must be able to tell the content is commercial, before they engage with it. That means the disclosure has to be visible without expanding a caption, audible if the content is spoken, and in the language of the audience.
Platform tools — the "paid partnership" label — help but are generally not accepted as sufficient on their own, because they render inconsistently. A written statement in the content itself is the safer position.
Enforcement targets creators, not only brands, and the sanction that hurts most is not the fine but the public correction.
In practice
"Paid partnership with X" at the start of a caption satisfies the requirement; "#ad" buried after twelve other hashtags generally does not.
Common mistake
Assuming the brand's contract covers you. The obligation is personal, and "they told me not to" is not a defence.
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