I agree that "shilling" really comes down to intent and transparency.
Are you presenting the information and disclosing (this can be implicit if connection is obvious) your interests? I don't think most have a problem with that, however the particular forum or board might not be suitable for it.
Democratic countries should live or die on the decisions they make. I think that is the ultimate freedom.
On the whole, most developed countries have broad consensus on core issues. I don't believe gap between left and right is large enough to destroy a country, there is a lot of common ground.