Claims circulating online allege the virus is an attempt to wage an "economic war on China" [Source: BBC]

Russia has flatly denied allegations that it is spreading disinformation about the new coronavirus outbreak on social media.

US officials said Russian-linked accounts were making unfounded claims that America started the outbreak.

Thousands of profiles on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were peddling the theory, the officials said.

Responding to the allegations, the Russian foreign ministry dismissed them as “fake”.

Over 2,000 people have died, mostly in China, and more than 76,000 people are confirmed to have the new coronavirus.