Editing Front organization (section)

{{Short description|Surrogate organization answering to someone else}}
{{use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}A '''front organization''' is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as [[intelligence agency|intelligence agencies]], [[organized crime]] groups, [[terrorist organization]]s, [[secret society|secret societies]], banned organizations, religious or political groups, [[advocacy group]]s, or [[corporation]]s. Front organizations can act for the parent group without the actions being attributed to the parent group, thereby allowing them to hide certain activities from the authorities or the public.

Front organizations that appear to be independent [[voluntary association]]s or [[charitable organization]]s are called '''front groups'''. In the business world, front organizations such as '''front companies''' or [[shell corporation]]s are used to shield the [[parent company]] from legal liability. In [[international relations]], a [[puppet state]] is a [[State (polity)|state]] which acts as a front (or surrogate) for another state.