system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What are the "cleaners" often mentioned in spy movies, and are they real?
gpt
They are people who remove evidence of a event so the public/authorities will be unaware of what happened. In the movies they are seceret agents that clear away evidence. 

In real life they are often involved in the PR wing of companies and government departs and are lawyers, publicists, contractors, accountants and general fixers who try to smooth over a problem.

So let's saying during a movie an actor gets drunk and smashes a car into someones house.  The publicist will start a false story how it was exhaustion. The lawyer will prevent the local authorities from pressing charges plus pay off the house owners by getting them to sign a contract. The accoutant will hide the pay off, often by listing the home owners as consultants, etc.