Yes. In the US the FTC's Endorsement Guides require a clear disclosure whenever a brand pays you or gives you something, and YouTube asks you to tick "includes paid promotion". In practice, of 7,831 sponsorship signals IU read in public descriptions in the last 90 days, only 2.6% used explicit words like "sponsored by" or #ad; the rest were affiliate links or codes alone. Say it in the video and at the top of the description.
Read the source: the FTC’s Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers and YouTube’s paid product placement policy. Other countries have their own rules (the UK’s ASA/CMA, for example). This is not legal advice.
"Paid" means IU saw an affiliate link, a discount code or a disclosed paid promotion in a public video description in the last 90 days (82,407 videos read, 7,831 sponsorship signals). A plain link to a brand does not count, and sponsorships that leave no trace in the description are not seen — so these shares are a floor, not the full picture.
Method
InfluencerUnion reads the public descriptions of recent videos from the YouTube channels it indexes (10K+ subscribers) and records affiliate links, discount codes and disclosed paid promotions. Rates use IU’s published rate method. Figures refresh daily. Not legal or financial advice.
Cite as: InfluencerUnion, “Disclosing YouTube sponsorships: what the rules say and what creators do”, influencerunion.com/answers/do-youtubers-disclose-sponsorships (2026).