This narcissist is ALL about publicity and trying to win back some respect. Looks like some here have fallen for it.
It is fair to say that it would be hard for him to publicly visit old folks like this without fans or autograph hounds causing a commotion or security issues.
It is also plausible that word got around about a famous actor who got refused access to an old folks home. A lot of people know who Clooney is and any one of them could have started the word-of-mouth domino that eventually reached some reporter at the Telegraph.
I appreciate your frustration. I hate it when good things happen to bad people and, reflexively, I feel the same way when somebody "bad" gets publicity for doing something that I consider good. It tarnishes my bad opinion of them. ;-)
If the article is accurate, Clooney shows up like anybody else (i.e., dressed average and without an entourage), and brings free videos and conversation to old folks who probably have an otherwise dreary life experience. It's just a nice and right thing to do. When people do good things like this it benefits everybody involved.
I'd rather encourage that kind of behavior with open respect than discourage it with suspicion and scorn.