You think that it would be the polite thing to do for reporters not to pursue him. I agree with you. I think where we differ is with the respect to the obligation of journalists.

Journalists are in the business of finding out information that's useful for an open democratic society in making decisions. If this person might be the genuine Satoshi, then it stands to reason he might offer useful information or a new perspective on Bitcoin or money in general.

Thus I think to not pursue this story as a journalist would be a violation of j-ethics.