Egypt's media, both public and private, have lined up behind the government in portraying its fight against the Muslim Brotherhood as a "war on terror" and vilifying foreign journalists.

As police and troops chase down members of the Islamist group, from which ousted president Mohammed Morsi comes, media have fanned the flames against the organization.

Foreign media have been accused of taking sides for covering the Islamists as well as the government, earning harsh criticism from state and local media.

Egyptian media have taken part in a "campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist currents", political commentator Hisham Kassem said.

"In one year of Morsi's presidency, more journalists were prosecuted than in the 185 years of the Egyptian press before," he said. "Now, the media are exploiting the situation the Brotherhood is in to pay them back." For days, Egypt's three state television channels have broadcast under a banner in English reading "Egypt fighting terrorism".

AFP

(China Daily 08/21/2013 page12)