Can Widespread Acceptance be Achieved Without Mainstream Media?

I’ll begin with saying that smaller / independent media have been critical in shining a light on the UAP topic over the past several years, and they will be critical for continuing the fight for disclosure in the years to follow. However, I wonder if the topic will ever be accepted by the larger public if not exclusively covered by mainstream media?

News on the CIA retrieval program was huge, but still didn’t seem to get as much traction as I figured it would, and same for other recent stories. But remember how huge the Times article was back in 2017? All of a sudden more and more people were talking about UAP and starting to take it more seriously.

I’ve been trying to imagine what potentially groundbreaking stories look like coming up, and the reactions of the broader public, and still just can’t see it being taken seriously until it’s covered by a larger network. I can imagine someone releasing actual crystal clear photos of a UAP and a bunch of alien bodies from credible sources and still no one in the general public would bat an eye. I hope I’m wrong about this, but I guess we’ll find out.

Anyways, anyone else have this feeling or the opposite?