Social media users are over-egging claims about the impacts of bird flu outbreaks in Australia and overseas, experts say.
Six Victorian poultry farms have detected cases of avian influenza, sparking fears of egg shortages and mass bird cullings.
The spread of the virus globally has fuelled online conspiracy theories and misinformation about the risks to food supplies and COVID-style lockdowns.
AAP FactCheck has found dozens of outlandish claims on Facebook, TikTok and X about bird flu being deliberately injected into animals to destroy food supplies.
Other social media users predict the World Health Organisation will somehow use the outbreak as a pretext to declare martial law or cancel national elections.