His cited example of a placebo that could skew data is olive oil, which by reducing heart disease would make the drug appear less effective than it might actually be.

Pointing out a study where the pharma company might have used a placebo that made their drug harder to approve is hardly in keeping with the insinuation that they're using placebos for "disturbing" ends.

Seems more like a case of "throw all the mud and hope some of it sticks" to me. Sorry.