it appears to be a double edged sword.
if i'm reading this correctly - those who know the phenomenon is on to something (those who don't need solid journalistic proof because they themselves are involved) can't ask because it's inherently self destructive…and those who don't know for certain because they're not involved need better "evidence" before asking the question, lest they be laughed out of the press corps for falling for a larp.
i've seen three people i consider to be journalists tweet at the potus account, with no response.
if Q/Potus wants to acknowledge, they can. the greater lesson might simply be that so many entrenched reporters are involved (and named in the unredacted OIG report?) that they are afraid to ask, and that's a part of how we got to this point.