http://www.ntrepidcorp.com/index/

The company is called "Ntrepid" and the product listed on its website are quite frightening, not only does it provide the persona management software for the shills, but it also has a program that determines how many people read and like your content, AKA your "influence" and it also has a program that can track people beyond VPNs, Proxies, and encryptions to their "true IP" AKA your physical location.

In March 2011, Ntrepid won a $2.76 million contract from the U.S. military for "online persona management."[2] The contract was for the creation of technology which would allow for blogging activities on websites, exclusively outside of the United States, to "counter violent extremist and enemy propaganda."[6][8] It would allow for one operator to anonymously create and control up to ten personas from one computer.[3] Each persona would have a background, history, supporting details, and cyber presence that is consistent from a technical, cultural, and geographic standpoint.[9]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntrepid

But they're not the only ones providing the programs, and without doubt, there are more groups using many accounts at once to control website views, votes, and information. Such as "HBGary"

http://boingboing.net/2011/02/18/hbgarys-high-volume.html

The enormous corpus of email leaked from federal security contractor HB Gary following Anonymous's hacking of the company's servers continues to deliver compromising payloads. This time, it's internal emails detailing the creation of "persona management" software to simplify the process of pretending to be several people at once online, in order simulate widespread support for a point of view -- astroturfing automation software. The software appears to have been developed in response to a federal government solicitation seeking automated tools for astroturfing message boards in foreign countries.

Now, both of these "leaks" claim the persona management is for use in foreign countries, but what do you believe?