The recent controversy about the Washington Post's Taylor Lorenz publishing the name of the Twitter @LibsOfTikTok account reminds me of this question, though it has of course also come up before. Two things seem to me quite clear:
- Publicizing such names can sometimes lead to the user (a) receiving threats (from a tiny fraction of the people who learn the name), (b) potentially being targeted for physical attacks (likely from even a tinier fraction), and (c) losing jobs and other economic opportunities (whether because the employers or others disapprove of the person's speech, or are just afraid of lost business if they deal with someone controversial). This in turn can cause these people to stop speaking; and it can deter other people from speaking, for fear that they will be identified this way.
- Publicizing such names can sometimes help people understand the possible biases of the previously-anonymous speaker, the possible relationships between various sources of online information, and the like. In some situations, it can also help readers figure out if the speaker has said or done things inconsistent with the speaker's anonymous persona, and help readers further investigate the credibility or the motivation of the speaker.
On the second point, such identification differs some of what is called "doxxing," such as publishing people's highly private information or even their home addresses (though mere identification of a person's name is indeed often labeled "doxxing" as that term appears to be used these days). It has some value—sometimes modest, sometimes substantial—to many readers, though it can also cause harm as the result of the actions of a few readers.
