Yes, we are all programming each other and ourselves all the time. You are not the only human with this kind of concerns. When I was younger, I avoided giving my opinion in many cases because I didn't know if it was ok to do that, as it might change the views of other people in ways that I didn't feel would always be positive for them. As I grew up, I noticed it didn't matter that much, as people are very resilient to changing their minds; their emotional perspective and priorities dominate their views, not their rational considerations.

In any case, while knowing where to draw the line is extremely hard, it's obvious there has to be a line, and publically sharing your opinion without any hidden motive is fundamentally different from attempting to lead others in a path that benefits your interests without regards for how that affects others or how it differs from your genuinely perceived truth (manipulation).