Are there paid shills and debunkers on the internet?

Are there paid shills and debunkers on the internet spreading lies, disinfo and propaganda to try to suppress truth? It would make sense that there were, since the media is controlled and infiltrated, why can't the internet as well? Every powerful group is going to want to try to sway public opinion, after all.

Could some or most of the debunkers and pseudoskeptics on this forum be paid online shills too? Very possible.

After all, why would anyone want to desperately defend the established viewpoint on everything, against all logic, evidence and reason? No honest rational objective human being would do that. Only someone with an agenda would.

Here are a bunch of links and news articles about online paid shills:

en.wikipedia.org...

news.bbc.co.uk...

www.guardian.co.uk...

www.infowars.com...

www.huffingtonpost.com...

www.rawstory.com...

What I don't get though, is that if there are paid shills on the internet, why haven't any of them come out and blown the whistle and said, "I was a paid internet shill. This is who hired me..." and so and so?

Oh yhea! It's the weekly paid shill thread....

Sorry I don't have anything valuable to input here, but at least one of theses (paid shill/dis-info agent) threads is posted here per week.

I only get paid to post in "Paid shill" threads.

Been a very profitable time lately

Originally posted by mileysubet
Oh yhea! It's the weekly paid shill thread....

Said the obviously government paid shill mileysubet. Really. We know what you are up to with that cool avatar and such.

But to the OP's point. Of course there are.

CJ

Originally posted by ColoradoJens

Originally posted by mileysubet
Oh yhea! It's the weekly paid shill thread....

Said the obviously government paid shill mileysubet. Really. We know what you are up to with that cool avatar and such.

But to the OP's point. Of course there are.

CJ

Shhh....we are not suppose to give each others cover away...ooops

reply to post by WWu777

Are there paid shills and debunkers on the internet spreading lies, disinfo and propaganda to try to suppress truth?

NO!

(Ka-ching.)

reply to post by WWu777

I only have a partial understanding of what a shill is. Can there be an unpaid shill? If there can be, is a shill then just a person who disagrees with your belief in spite of every effort you can make to have him accept your position?

Is a paid shill someone who types what another person tells them to type, while getting paid for it?

Pay me and i will debunk anything.....

Originally posted by WWu777
What I don't get though, is that if there are paid shills on the internet, why haven't any of them come out and blown the whistle and said, "I was a paid internet shill. This is who hired me..." and so and so?

Funnily enough if you type "I was a paid internet shill" into ATS search, you get a thread started by someone claiming to have been a paid internet shill. Oh and a bunch of other "Shill" threads.

reply to post by mileysubet


Shazbot, I did it again. Please don't let the boss know and I promise I will do that really funny dance again for you at the Christmas party.

CJ

There are no such thing as a paid shrill. They simply don't exist. There are only people who are paid to tell people that there are on the internet.

Basically, anyone who disagrees with you or "knows too much" is a paid shill. At least thats what I've noticed around here. Who would pay someone to troll forums and spread false information when it won't do its job anyway.
I've seen quite a few threads where idiots just say things for no reason and try to make them out as facts. Well, thats why I have a brain. I just check and see if what their saying is true, and if it isn't I know they are just counter-productive morons with purpose.

Originally posted by dayve
Pay me and i will debunk anything.....

Just have to say it...been laughing at that avatar all day. Awesome.

CJ

This ATS thread came to mind right off the bat.
AMA: I was a paid Internet troll.,

Then there is this one
Government Think Tank Calls For Infiltrating Conspiracy Websites!,

So yes they are out there and even here. As they say trust no-one.

reply to post by WWu777


Of course there are paid shills on this site... The government must control the sheeple!

It's so easy to spread dis-information, some people don't think. They just read stuff and decide it must be true!

Originally posted by dayve
Pay me and i will debunk anything.....

LOL There's enough people, see above, to do the work.
SO why not!

why haven't any of them come out and blown the whistle and said, "I was a paid internet shill. This is who hired me

We get about one a week on ATS but they usually turn out to be an unpaid Troll...

Peace

reply to post by jude11


And now jude11, the left-leaning troll from DC shows up. For heavens sake you guys, if everyone comes on here they are going to catch on. Besides, our TPS reports are due now. Boss is pissed.

CJ

reply to post by WWu777


this whole forum has become a shill, my friend.

it's easy to spot them, they're usually the first to respond on threads, usually with a neutralish statement that leans towards the opinion of status quo...it's an easy tactic to sway opinions, control the thread, and seem "normal".

had you gotten to ATS a few years ago, it'd be a different story.

but like ATS site owner says: "i don't care if you've found a new version of history"

ATS doesn't care about you or your alternative information. they care about site views, $$$, and.... no thats it.

reply to post by waterplants

it's easy to spot them, they're usually the first to respond on threads, usually with a neutralish statement that leans towards the opinion of status quo...it's an easy tactic to sway opinions, control the thread, and seem "normal".

It looks like I must be a shill then. I like to look at threads with sensational headlines, check the OP's source, and comment on the reliability and sufficiency of the evidence. Sometimes I will add my own opinion and evidence. Because the evidence rarely justifies the astounding headline, I find myself often trying to tone things down a bit, so a reasonable discussion can be had.

I do like to appear "normal," I think most people do. When I think my opinions are more justified than someone else's, I admit, I try to sway their opinion. The one thing I don't do is try to control a thread. So maybe I'm only an almost shill. Would you care to look over my work and offer your opinion on the matter?