I studied journalism at the University of Arizona, one of the first things I was taught was the supreme importance of middle initials. After all, the professors said, if you write about the arrest of John Smith, you're risking a libel suit from the John M. Smiths and John P. Smiths who aren't the John Q. Smith who was arrested. OK, fine, I get it. When I'm in charge, I vowed, there would be a limit to this nonsense. As opposed to the Monica G. Lewinsky scandal.
Middle initials can be fine and wonderful things.
But not everybody is known by a middle initial. I understand where Monica S. Lewinsky is coming from. In the Lewinsky case, however, in which a public statement of middle-initial preference would be unlikely, I see no reason to scurry around and dig up the middle initial of a distinctively named figure in the news and use it to clutter and obscure that distinctive, widely known name. Yes, if you're writing about unknown subjects and there's a risk of misidentification, be as specific as possible, including middle initials. Initials made up for humorous effect.