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> ITER hasn't been the "International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor" for a very long time now. Why does it keep being called that?

Because that's its name? You can't choose how other people refer to you.

Similarly, when Kentucky Fried Chicken officially changed its name to KFC, nobody cared, and KFC continued to mean Kentucky Fried Chicken in every context except the imagination of some executives.

Probably because they don't want to confuse readers who don't know the history and would wonder how on earth ITER could possibly stand for "International nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject".

Let's face it, changing the project name but still calling it ITER is a bit confusing.

From a journalist's PoV, 100% of readers need a quick summary of what ITER is. Vs. 0% actually need to know the current official name.

(As a former SciAm subscriber - '70's to '90's - I would not look to current-day SciAm for examples of anything good.)