Yeah, so?
You can always say that prostitutes don't need to work the way they do, yet it doesn't make those who are exploiting them less quilty.
Some people lack certain attributes, like f.ex intelligence or experience. It doesn't make it right to use them.
The same when people are using someone's emotional need to be a part of a group - they're preying on people's weaknesses and that is simply wrong.
I didn't say the guy was a paragon of virtue, I said that when all that he's done is literally told somebody 'hey, do this...' there is indisputably a responsibility on the individual to think 'do I actually want to do this?' first and if they don't feel able to equip themselves with the necessary facts to make that determination, the answer to that question would be 'no, not really'.