Recently, a blogger friend noticed that the disclosure policies on some of the blogs she was reading effectively said that the blogger didn’t necessarily disclose compensation:
The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.
I recognized the language immediately as language from disclosurepolicy.org’s Disclosure Policy Generator, but thought that certainly the tool would have been updated to reflect the requirements set out by the FTC guidelines on endorsements and testimonials. A disclosure that you don’t disclose is not in compliance.
Nope. The option is still in the generator.
While it is better to write your own policy, in your own words, I do understand the appeal of widgets. Do yourself a favor, though. If you use disclosurepolicy.org, tweak it to fit your circumstances, and definitely make sure you don’t have this language in your policy.
Twitter Comment
When a disclosure policy discloses that the blogger doesn’t disclose… [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
Twitter Comment
When a disclosure policy discloses that the blogger doesnt disclose: [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
I noticed such a thing recently when I was vetting bloggers for an upcoming client event. I saw this on the site from a blogger who looked interesting and seemed to be a good fit for that client, but decided not to contact her after seeing a statement like you mention. FTC regs aside, I would not want to read a blog on which I’d always have to second guess content ad advertising.
The next time I saw a similar disclosure, I sent the blogger a note asking her to clarify the intent of that statement. She told me she forgot it was there. Within minutes she had changed it.