The novel coronavirus is man-made by the Chinese government to control the population in China.

The novel coronavirus being man-made by the Chinese government is one of the conspiracies that have appeared since the outbreak.

The novel coronavirus being man-made by the Chinese government is one of the conspiracies that have appeared since the outbreak.An article published by China Daily states that trolls and conspiracy theories are undermining the response to the new coronavirus. False theories about the virus have included Russia's Channel One airing conspiracy theories claiming that the United States intelligence agencies or pharmaceutical companies have created the virus.

The WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on 8 February 2020, that at WHO, the virus is not just battled but also the trolls and conspiracy theorists that push misinformation and undermine the outbreak response. He emphasised the importance of facts and said that people must have access to accurate information to protect themselves and others.

The BBC article states that numerous conspiracies have appeared since the outbreak about the origin, scale and dubious health advice. The article has mentioned several false theories that have been spread globally about the virus since its outbreak like 'China's covert biological weapons programme' and 'virus found at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory'.

The Wired article states that conspiracy theories about the Wuhan coronavirus, range from believing the disease is a bioweapon to the result of eating bat soup are playing an ancient chord. The article states that a coronavirus is new, and its lack of information combines to create the perfect Petri dishes for conspiracy theories.

CORRECTION: The previous fact-check stated that the outbreak could be caused by a new strain of coronavirus starting in bats. However, the modes of transmission are yet to be ascertained. But, the latest analysis shows that many conspiracy theories about coronavirus are circulating in social media. Therefore, the judgment has been retained, but sources have been updated to cite different theories which show the actual cause is unknown.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.