I think the point here is to expose the nofly list as an unethical and/or illegal government program by leaking it to journalists that can evaluate and summarize it's contents, not to help them secure it better.

White hat hacking assumes that the hacked party is doing normal or ethical business, and that helping them secure it would be generally beneficial.

Also, I'm pretty confident that Maia, as a famous hacker and cybersecurity expert, isn't going to be easily duped by someone impersonating a journalist, and knows how to verify such things.