A chart purporting to show a schedule of pre-planned coronavirus variants has been shared thousands of times on social media as proof of a baseless conspiracy theory that the pandemic was staged. But viruses mutate unpredictably, several of the variants have already been detected ahead of the supposed timetable, and the groups whose logos appear in the posts -- including the World Health Organization -- told AFP that the image is not genuine.

"These are the PLANNED VARIANTS with the dates when they will be 'released' to the media," claims a July 27, 2021 Facebook post. It shares an image of a chart listing variant names and dates, and goes on to claim: "The last 'Covid variant' is scheduled for February 2023, meaning by the end of 2023, 7 Billion people are scheduled to die. THEY WILL NOT STOP THE 'VARIANTS' UNTIL 7 BILLION PEOPLE ARE DEAD."

"ONLY WE CAN STOP THIS IF WE STICK TOGETHER AND REFUSE TO TAKE THE KILL SHOT," the post continued, feeding into widespread online misinformation questioning the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines.

The same image is also found in Facebook and Instagram posts making similar claims in English, as well as in French, Romanian, Indonesian and German posts.

Other similar posts here and here shared at the end of November 2021 in South Africa, include references to the recently discovered Omicron variant.

“Omicron 6 months early,” reads one Facebook post with reference to the false table.

The table includes the logos of the World Health...

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