Poetry propaganda served rulers, rebels, and personal social announcements alike

Evidence

Rulers were not the only ones who employed poets for public relations. They were also used by rebels and sectarian leaders, to disseminate seditious propa­ ganda, and sometimes even for purely personal ends. Poetry was also used for what we would nowadays call the social column, as a way of announcing births, deaths, marriages, and other events of this kind. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 470

Categorization

• XREF: Poetry as an all-purpose media channel (spin, sedition, AND social column) maps onto the idea of pre-modern media forms performing functions later split among press, advertising, and social media.