In that case they are dishonest. Indeed inconceivable if one dogmatically accepts the Weismann Barrier and indeed surprising if one doesn't know about Steele's results. Typically 'somatic' and 'germline' were separated literally by definition . And that holds for all the gene therapy trials. Nobody mentioned the Weismann Barrier or Steele's work.
Nobody explains how unintentional germline modification works.
Weismann Barrier proposed by August Weismann in 1885. Human Molecular Genetics , p156.