<sod>A '''shill,''' also called a '''plant''' or a '''stooge,''' is a person who publicly helps or gives credibility to a person or organization without disclosing that they have a close relationship with the person or organization. Shills can carry out their operations in the areas of media, journalism, marketing or other business areas or in cons or confidence games. A shill may also act to discredit opponents or critics of the person or organization in which they have a vested interest through [[character assassination]] or other means.<eod>
<sod>A '''shill,''' also called a '''plant''' or a '''stooge,''' is a person who publicly helps or gives credibility to a person or organization without disclosing that they have a close relationship with the person or organization. Shills can carry out their operations in the areas of media, journalism, marketing, [[confidence game]]s, or other business areas. A shill may also act to discredit opponents or critics of the person or organization in which they have a vested interest through [[character assassination]] or other means.<eod>