> is if you share publicly available information, how have you done any harm?

Even if your assistance adds low-value, it's still assistance.

Moreover, I don't believe it's reasonable to ignore the fact that a renowned Ethereum dev providing assistance to a hostile regime, regardless of how lame, does have a goal of conveying credibility and help push public acceptance. As a similar example, see for example how Snowden was blindsided by a guy trying to leverage Snowden's attendance as a way to buy him credibility.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/epndnz/the-bizarre-case-of-s...