Anchor tag inside Liquid {% let %} variable results in "welcomeText of email variant is malformed"

Issue Summary

We are using a common footer fragment across multiple email templates. The footer receives a variable (welcomeText) from the email template and renders it using triple braces ({{{welcomeText}}}).

When the welcomeText variable contains HTML tags such as <br>, <sup>, <b>, or <p>, the email validates successfully.

However, when the variable contains an HTML anchor tag (<a href="...">...</a>), the email validation fails with the following error:

welcomeText of email variant is malformed

Steps to Reproduce

1. Define a variable in the email template:

{% let welcomeText = "<a href='https://google.com'>Google</a>" %}

2. Render the variable in the email template or a content fragment using:

{{{welcomeText}}}

3. Save or validate the email.

Actual Result

The email validation fails with the following error:

welcomeText of email variant is malformed

Expected Result

The welcomeText variable should accept valid HTML anchor tags in the same way it accepts other HTML tags such as <br>, <sup>, <b>, and <p>. The anchor tag should render correctly when using triple braces ({{{welcomeText}}}).

Troubleshooting Performed

We tested the following:

• <br> inside welcomeText – Works

• <sup> inside welcomeText – Works

• <b> inside welcomeText – Works

• <p> inside welcomeText – Works

• <a href="..."> inside welcomeText – Fails

We also tested different quote formats for the href attribute:

• Single quotes (')

• Double quotes (")

• Escaped double quotes (\")

• HTML entity (")

• Backticks (`)

The issue occurs with all of the above.

We also verified that using {{{welcomeText}}} instead of {{welcomeText}} does not resolve the issue.

Business Impact

We have implemented a reusable common footer fragment that is shared across multiple email templates. Each template passes a different legal disclaimer through the welcomeText variable.

Some legal disclaimers require hyperlinks (for example, triangle.com). Since anchor tags cannot be included in the variable, we are unable to render dynamic hyperlinks while keeping a single reusable footer fragment. This forces duplication of footer content across multiple templates, making maintenance more complex.

Request

Could you please confirm whether:

1. HTML <a> tags are supported inside Liquid {% let %} string variables in Adobe Journey Optimizer.

2. This is an expected product limitation or a product defect.

3. If supported, please provide the recommended syntax or best practice for including hyperlinks within variables rendered using {{{variable}}}.