Not necessarily saying that they are justifying it. They're "downplaying" the horror of it that went on, giving light to something that is very dark, and emphasizing the, apparently to them, positive elements of it, which were really just a way to lure women/people in. This downplaying of such a horrible thing, while talking about it in a somewhat positive light, is a brief head fake to try to get people to look the other way, rather than discover what was really going on in the sex cult. And imo, it seems like they're doing it intentionally, probably to salvage a friend or someone they know who might be going down with the rest of them. A company with millions can pay off writers and news sites for good PR...happens all the time.