Are SM the ripples in the societal water? Absolutely.

But who / what is the rock that generates and maintains the narative of those ripples?

The MSM is like Top 40 radio. That is, the public wants what the public gets. No one changes the station. They just keep whistling along to the tunes being played - regardless of how bad and mindless. Most people are simply regurgitating brain-worms. They do that on SM.

p.s. The fact that SM was relatively silent (compared to say Stormy Daniels) is a great example. Which did the MSM "play"? And which was ignored?

There are no ripples without a rock hitting the water.