I think some of them does but others are only doing what they want and people are only following them,We don't know if they are manipulating or just doing what they want when they do something,For example selling some of their crypto we don't really know if they really need the Fiat or just wants to create a wave to dump the price.
I agree with you, most of them are creating trends, and small investors will follow the movements that the whales have created. when the whale moves to create a trend, small investors will be caught in their bait and FOMO in the market. that's when the whales take profit.