I do nofap.
It is 100% not a placebo I can assure you of that with absolute certainty. I can tell you this from my own personal experience, but you can't see the world through my eyes, there are too many instances of female attraction when I have been doing well on nofap.
The term placebo cannot apply to nofap because it causes physiological changes within your body i.e. you accumulate sperm cells. It is my belief that this causes your behaviour to change on an instinctual level.
You start walking with a swagger, your voice gets deeper, you feel overall more motivated to do stuff, you can lift heavier **** in the gym, you also get angrier, etc, etc.
These are all symptoms of an increase in testosterone. So nofap = more testosterone. I have also read multiple accounts of guys who have have had their T-levels read before and after nofap, and it doubles.
Lastly, anyone who is not on nofap is missing a huge trick believe me. It is perhaps the most important key to success in life because at the end of the day if you have no sexual drive because you fap all day, what is the point in leaving your house, stay in doors and waste your life.