or did Monero shills
Since there are no Monero shills, the answer is no.
Not anymore they're not. But don't worry, we will harp on the next project they band back together to shill for.
Let me clear that up for you. There have never been Monero shills. We are well aware that it is quite easy and inexpensive to hire shills to post for or against any coin. We haven't.
Sorry to be argumentative. It is impossible to be both decentralized and make a statement that requires centralized authority.
The claim of shills is essentially a claim of centralization, so I agree.
Independent agents who support (oppose) a project and are vocal in their support (opposition) are not shills.
Furthermore we never claimed the project is decentralized. In fact we have said that some degree of centralization is necessary at this early stage, with a goal to become more decentralized over time.
Nevertheless, centralized or otherwise, we have never employed shills.