There are basically three possible outcomes to Ben investigating the story of Alice and Chloe:
Ben concludes that the accusations against Nonlinear are true
Ben concludes that the accusations against Nonlinear are false
Ben decides that he doesn’t have enough evidence to make a conclusion (but can share the data)
You are talking about the first two options, but it seems quite clear to me that the third option is the thing Alice and Chloe actually worry about. (A&C know whether they are telling the truth or lying, but they can’t predict whether Ben will be sufficiently convinced by the evidence or not.) What they want is for Ben not to publish the story if the third option happens, because the predictable outcome is that Nonlinear would take revenge against them.
Ben also wants to avoid the third option, but he can’t really promise it. Maybe there simply is not enough evidence either way; or maybe there is, but collecting it would take more time than Ben is willing to spend.
There are basically three possible outcomes to Ben investigating the story of Alice and Chloe:
Ben concludes that the accusations against Nonlinear are true
Ben concludes that the accusations against Nonlinear are false
Ben decides that he doesn’t have enough evidence to make a conclusion (but can share the data)
You are talking about the first two options, but it seems quite clear to me that the third option is the thing Alice and Chloe actually worry about. (A&C know whether they are telling the truth or lying, but they can’t predict whether Ben will be sufficiently convinced by the evidence or not.) What they want is for Ben not to publish the story if the third option happens, because the predictable outcome is that Nonlinear would take revenge against them.
Ben also wants to avoid the third option, but he can’t really promise it. Maybe there simply is not enough evidence either way; or maybe there is, but collecting it would take more time than Ben is willing to spend.