The rumors began almost as soon as the disease itself. Claims that a foreign adversary had unleashed a bioweapon emerged at the fringes of Chinese social media the same day China first reported the outbreak of a mysterious virus.

As the coronavirus spread across the globe, so too did speculation about its origins. Perhaps the virus escaped from a lab. Maybe it was engineered as a bioweapon.

Health misinformation on Facebook was viewed 3.8 billion times in the past year, peaking during the Covid-19 crisis, said a report of activist group Avaaz.

Although the scientists around the world are struggling to find a vaccine and cure for Covid-19, misinformation, conspiracy theories, hoaxes, anti-mask myths, and sham cures on different social media platforms seeming to have no antidote.

 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said with common cause for common sense and facts, they can defeat COVID-19 -- and build a healthier, more equitable, just and resilient world.   "Together, let’s reject the lies and nonsense out there," he said in a message on COVID-19 and Misinformation.