A YouTube food creator publishes a restaurant tour with an affiliate link to the restaurant's reservation page. The description mentions "collaboration" — but Turkey's advertising regulator says that is not enough. Meanwhile in the US, the FTC fined a creator $10,000 in 2024 for putting "#ad" only at the bottom of the description. Affiliate disclosure rules sit at the intersection of two regulatory regimes: Turkey's Reklam Kurulu Decision 2024/187 and the US FTC 16 CFR Part 255. When more than 30% of your audience is international, both apply simultaneously.
Turkey Track: Reklam Kurulu 2024/187
Decision 2024/187 explicitly defines the labels that social media creators must use to disclose commercial relationships. For YouTube videos containing affiliate links, the phrase "Bu video ortaklık (affiliate) linki içerir" must appear in the first 3 lines of the description — meaning visible before the "Show more" fold. The board fined 47 creators a total of 2.8 million TRY in H1 2025; the most common violation was hidden disclosures below the fold.
The disclosure text must be in Turkish for content targeting Turkish audiences. "Ortaklık linki" is preferred over the English "affiliate link" in audit reports as a positive example. When the partnership involves a restaurant or food brand, combining the brand name + "iş birliği" + "ortaklık linki içerir" is the safest pattern.
US Track: FTC 16 CFR Part 255
The FTC's Endorsement Guides require clear disclosure whenever a "material connection" exists. "#ad", "#sponsored", or "Paid partnership" are acceptable, but abbreviations like "#sp" or "#collab" are insufficient. FTC explicitly rejected such shortcuts in the BetterHelp and Lord & Taylor 2024 actions.
For YouTube specifically: disclosures should appear before the video starts or in the first line of the description. Verbal disclosure inside the video — "this video contains affiliate links" said in the intro — is considered the strongest position by FTC staff guidance issued in March 2025.
When Both Rules Trigger
Check YouTube Studio's "Geographic location" analytics. If viewers from the US, Germany, or UK exceed 30% of total watch time, the Turkish disclosure alone is insufficient. FTC applies a "U.S. audience targeted or substantially viewed" test — 30% is the industry threshold reflected in 2024 enforcement actions. In that case, your description must carry both Turkish and English disclosures.
Yemek.com's "Istanbul's Best Pide" video is a good example: a Turkish "Bu video ortaklık linki içerir" line sits directly above an English "This video contains affiliate links" line. Buse Terim's channel uses the same bilingual stack. A pinned comment with the disclosure is extra protection — but it cannot replace the description. FTC does not accept pinned comments as the primary disclosure.
FAQ
Is a pinned comment enough on its own? No. Both Reklam Kurulu and FTC require the primary disclosure in the first 3 lines of the description. The pinned comment is a transparency bonus, not a substitute.
Does the "#affiliate" hashtag suffice for Turkey? Decision 2024/187 does not accept a standalone hashtag. A plain-language sentence is required. Hashtags can be added for search discovery.
Should I retroactively update old videos? Yes. Both regulators apply ongoing liability to videos still live and generating revenue. YouTube Studio's bulk edit tool saves time when updating dozens of descriptions at once.
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