I see this **** all over the internet.
One of their funding sources is
The Open Society Foundations. They distribute grants to organizations like
www.MoveOn.org. These organizations then manage their paid posters. The users have to give their social security number because they are considered independent contractors.
They also have to sign a nondisclosure. They don't dare say anything because their employer has their SS number. That is why you don't hear many internet users having a change of heart and confessing their shill status--except one (see next post).