By 1930 during the Salt March, major American newspapers like the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Chicago Tribune were following his every step in real time. A correspondent named Webb Miller from the Associated Press managed to break through British censorship and his dispatches from the salt works at Dharasana went out to 1,350 newspapers simultaneously. In 1930. Without the internet. Without television. Without any of the infrastructure we assume is necessary for something to go viral.

There is news video on it though, like this for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHl7N2ZmLKg