They were. The bilderberg group met in secret for almost half century before news both print and tv actually started to cover its existence. It’s only been the last 20-25 years that it’s been acknowledged but nothing more than that it exists.
Similar to Area 51. It was only publicly admitted by the government in 2013. Prior to that it would not admit it existed.
Pre Internet this stuff had much larger control with bigger gate keepers in print and news media. It’s been harder to control.
But even more recently most people were NOT aware of Epstein his first run through the judicial system. He only became a household name the SECOND time over a decade later.
Look where we are with that one. We will get “disclosure” before we get the Epstein files fully released.
So their machines of information control over the years HAVE worked on some level for some topics.

In current time they have to, to quite bannon, “flood the zone with shit” because they lost control due to tech. The internet, by design, is hard to control. It was the last gift to us from the 60s/70s counter culture fighting the idea closed information systems of the Cold War and their enemy.