The human capacity for self-delusion is immense!
Reminds me of a fellow, a few houses down from me, who claims to be a pastor, and a healer. He probably got his Pastorship, or what the hell ever it's called, on-line, from Liberty University.
The long-standing failure of prayer, or mass meditations, to achieve anything other than ease the anxiety of those who participate, has had no impact on the fools. They just have rationalizations.

It is amazing how many and how fast they find suckers everywhere every time. I see them on all social media, WhatsApp, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, blogs.... We are in a passive and non assertive minority. Don't know how long religion and its zealots will keep winning. They also have control over school boards, city councils, and legislatures every where. They have never accepted to keep state and church separate.

Unless we get power it is not going to reduce, let alone stop. That is what religion did to expand their power, control and influence for thousands of years. Those who did not do this, went into oblivion and are jungle religion by Christianity and Islam. They got kings and emperors on their side. I do not think our fight with logic on our side will win. Our numbers will increase slowly but if the current state continues will take another 1,000 years to undo the grip of religion over people all over. Remove state power from religion and they will be severely weakened and vulnerable.

Kinda hopeless convincing the faithful that the Bible is not historically accurate.
IIUC, there are NO independent sources to corroborate the "500 witnesses" claim(s).