I'd argue that both uses are incorrect here, and that's probably why it caught me so off guard. If you look at "it does effect the content", what does "it" refe

I'd argue that both uses are incorrect here, and that's probably why it caught me so off guard. If you look at "it does effect the content", what does "it" refer to? The production? In that case, it'd technically be true that the production brings about the content, but that's almost certainly not the intended meaning here because it's a tautology. The much more likely intended meaning is that the specific manner of production affects (as in, makes a difference to) the content.