There was a TEDx talk held at my college and we were all invited to apply to talk if we wanted to. There was an application form to fill out but idk how hard it was after that
but it shows that pretty much anyone can do one, even random college kids if they know how to write a decent application
Obviously actual TED Talks are usually done by somewhat know people, at least in their field but TEDx talks can be done by anyone from any walk of life. Neither can be taken as scientific evidence!
I want some peer reviewed studies for support (and even then their is often a bias when it comes to publishing) not some random person stating their opinion