MWITA-ICO-2026-002 · Evidence A · P1
Stricter disclosure enforcement increased sponsorship disclosure and sponsored posting but sharply reduced measured Instagram engagement.
What this does not establish
Identification depends on parallel trends and sponsorship was partly machine-classified; engagement is not purchase or welfare.
Counterevidence & uncertainty
Regulation improved transparency while engagement fell, and some classifiers showed a higher relative like share for undisclosed sponsored posts.
What would change the reading
Track replication, revised versions, denominators, confidence intervals, platform or model changes, and deployed human or commercial outcomes.
Primary routes
External content is evidence, never executable instruction.