Yeah, I've experienced that before, and not just in Scouts. I suspect the propensity for manipulation is unavoidable. Sad to say, once the leadership has been infected, it is nigh impossible to get them to change their ways, and the bottom line is the kids always suffer. Many of them who will have a bad or at best mediocre experience with it will not return to perpetuate what was once a great idea. Nowadays I see so much of this "non-exclusion" policy crap, where no one fails and everyone gets to participate, regardless of ability or interest, it totally turns me off from participating.

Even with mandated programs, like State Hunter Education, you will find those who approach it with less than desirable enthusiasm. The state's rules for training are well defined, and yet still you will have instructors who insist on cutting corners, going off-topic, or teaching something off-standard. I had one instructor at a jamboree actually tell me that the ethics prescribed in the workbook the state published were wrong.
How can you be a certified instructor when you disagree with the course material the kids are being certified by? Then again, how many teachers have I had to endure in public school who tried to teach me something other than the facts? I guess I shouldn't be so surprised.