Myanmar's junta attacked "unscrupulous" citizens and foreign media on Friday for presenting a false picture of the devastation left by Cyclone Nargis as experts began mapping the extent of the disaster.
The New Light of Myanmar, the mouthpiece of the ruling generals, said people had been selling video footage "of invented stories" to foreign news organisations which tarnished the country's image.
"The people who are in touch with the situation feel that the despicable and inhumane acts by local and foreign anti-government groups and self-centred persons and their exploiting of the storm victims are absolutely obnoxious," the newspaper said.
Bootleg copies of DVDs showing the devastation in the hardest-hit Irrawaddy delta have been snapped up on the streets of the former capital Yangon and smuggled out of the country.
Police detained famous activist/comedian Zarganar on Wednesday night and seized his computer, several banned films and records of the cyclone damage.
Newspaper, television and radio are tightly controlled by the military government, which also severely restricts international media access to the former Burma.
The New Light of Myanmar accused foreign media of running "groundless news stories with the intention of tarnishing the image of Myanmar and misleading the international community into believing that cyclone victims do not receive any assistance."
The first major criticism of foreign media coverage of the disaster followed a recent report on a satellite television network of bootleg video footage being sold at a Yangon market.
On Friday, police swooped on satellite television suppliers in Yangon, ordering them not to sell or install new receiver dishes.
Many such dishes, which provided one of the few conduits into the isolated country, were destroyed in the cyclone.
"Thanks to a tip-off given by an official, we were able to hide the things we had on sale," said one dealer.
