Crusade-era writers recycled unverified gossip as deliberate war propaganda.

Evidence

This irresponsible reliance on gossip was both calculated war propaganda (it was intended for the eyes of the Fathers of the Council at Lyons) and the revelation of a state of mind. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 632

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to how modern propaganda also weaponizes hearsay aimed at institutional audiences — parallels to theories of mass persuasion.