Policy & compliance · also called Sponsored content label
Native ad disclosure
Native ad disclosure is the label that tells readers a headline or article styled like editorial content is actually paid advertising.
Native advertising is designed to blend in: a sponsored headline in a "you may also like" widget looks much like the real articles beside it. Disclosure is what keeps that blending honest.
The FTC's guide for businesses says a disclosure is needed whenever consumers might not recognise an ad as an ad. It should be clear and prominent, placed near the headline and where people will look, in readable type and contrast, and it should travel with the content when it is shared. The FTC favours terms like "Ad", "Advertisement" or "Sponsored Advertising Content", and warns that "Promoted" or "Presented by" can be ambiguous.
In Native-to-search arbitrage there are two disclosure points. The widget run by the content recommendation widget network labels the headline as sponsored. Then the arbitrageur's own content page must not present itself as independent journalism if its purpose is to carry search ads, and the related-search unit must stay visibly distinct from the article. Formats that copy a news site's look, with invented bylines or "as seen on" badges, are the usual way this goes wrong.
An example
A widget tile reading "Sponsored: What new roof costs look like in 2026" is disclosed. The same tile with no label, styled as a news headline, is not.
Related terms
Native advertising
Native advertising is paid promotion designed to look like the editorial content around it, typically a headline and thumbnail shown beneath or beside articles on news sites.
Ad disclosure
Ad disclosure is the clear labelling of paid content as advertising, so people know when a link or listing is an ad before they click.
FTC Act (deceptive advertising)
The FTC Act is the US law that empowers the Federal Trade Commission to stop unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce, including deceptive advertising.
Content recommendation widget
A content recommendation widget is a block of sponsored and editorial story links on a publisher's page, supplied by a network that pays the publisher for clicks.
Native-to-search (N2S)
Native-to-search is buying visitors from native ad widgets on news sites and sending them to a page that earns from search ads.
Misleading ad
A misleading ad promises or implies something the landing page does not deliver, tricking people into a click they would not otherwise have made.