He knows that by making the hero knowingly say an untruth, he can use that violation of ethics to extract further information. This is at the end ofthe episode when the Federation has found out that the hero is captured and negotiated his release. The villain tries one last time to bribe the hero with social status - all he has to do is say 2+2=5. This is exactly how leftists opperate.

Specifically Communists. Making dissenters espouse truths both parties know to be false, and both understand the other knows they are aware are false is right out of the Soviet handbook.