"The Western media is no better, if also no worse, than Hollywood, which, if it so chooses, manages to manipulate and mislead whether viewers like it or not," an Egyptian writer said in an article titled "Follow the western media -- at your own risk."

CAIRO, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Western media attempt to shape global perceptions while warping the truth, which is why people should be aware of the risks in following their reports, wrote Egyptian writer Azza Radwan Sedky in a recent article.

"The Western media is no better, if also no worse, than Hollywood, which, if it so chooses, manages to manipulate and mislead whether viewers like it or not," Sedky wrote in her article titled "Follow the western media -- at your own risk."

The piece was published earlier this month on Ahramonline, the English website of Egypt's state-run Al-Ahram newspaper.

Sedky cited how Hollywood cowboy movies in the 1950s and 1960s have misled audiences regarding the native Indians, saying that Hollywood movies propagated "unfair and unjust" vision and misled the world to accept the depictions as authentic.

"The same thing is sometimes true of the Western media," wrote Sedky, calling Western media's prejudice against China, Russia, Iran, and Egypt as "recognizable bias."

"Stories in the Western media about these countries are constantly presented negatively, highlighting gloom and doom," she wrote, deeming the Western media "a propaganda tool."

The Western media also provide other media with descriptions which create negative stereotypes, with phrases like "China's tabloids say ... " and "Egypt's pro-government media argues ..., " Sedky wrote.

Such phrases leave readers with stereotypical negative impressions on Russia, China, Iran and Egypt while the Western media "alters and twists facts."

Last December, the BBC posted two versions of the same video, titled "How Everyday Life Has Changed in Wuhan," on YouTube, with one in Chinese and the other in English.

"Both versions had the same content, but the footage in the English version had a greyish filter added to make it darker and more depressing. The intention was clear. The same thing goes for Egypt," the Egyptian columnist wrote.