  a shill, also called a plant or a stooge, is a person who publicly helps a person or organization without disclosing that they have a close relationship with the person or organization. "shill" typically refers to someone who purposely gives onlookers the impression that they are an enthusiastic independent customer of a seller (or marketer of ideas) for whom they are secretly working. the person or group who hires the shill is using crowd psychology to encourage other onlookers or audience members to purchase the goods or services (or accept the ideas being marketed). shills are often employed by professional marketing campaigns. "plant" and "stooge" more commonly refer to any person who is secretly in league with another person or organization while pretending to be neutral or actually a part of the organization he is planted in, such as a magician's audience, a political party, or an intelligence organization (see double agent). shilling is illegal in many circumstances and in many jurisdictions because of the potential for fraud and damage; however if a shill does not place uninformed parties at a risk of loss, but merely generates "buzz," the shill's actions may be legal. for example, a person planted in an audience to laugh and applaud when desired (see claque), or to participate in on-stage activities as a "random member of the audience," is a type of legal shill. shill can also be used pejoratively to describe a critic who appears either all-too-eager to heap glowing praise upon mediocre offerings, or who acts as an apologist for glaring flaws. in this sense, such a critic would be an indirect shill for the industry at large, because said critic's income is tied to the prosperity of the industry. ==etymology== the origin of the term "shill" is uncertain; it may be an abbreviation of "shillaber." the word originally denoted a carnival worker who pretended to be a member of the audience in an attempt to elicit interest in an attraction. some sources trace the usage back to 1914.note: shillaber as a surname was known in the us during the 19th century. == internet == in online discussion media, satisfied consumers or "innocent" parties may express specific opinions in order to further the interests of an organization in which they have an interest, such as a commercial vendor or [[ad
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