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A massive wave of COVID-19 disinformation has hit social media during the pandemic, the EU claimed on Wednesday.

Brussels said it false information about the virus can prove deadly and wants to strengthen its response to the problem, Euronews reported.

It wants to improve communication of the problem to EU citizens and co-operate better with member states.

“Disinformation in times of the coronavirus can kill," the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. "We have a duty to protect our citizens by making them aware of false information and expose the actors responsible for engaging in such practices.

"In today's technology-driven world, where warriors wield keyboards rather than swords and targeted influence operations and disinformation campaigns are a recognised weapon of state and non-state actors, the European Union is increasing its activities and capacities in this fight.”

Several cases have been found where people have taken harmful medication or using "cures" that don't work.

The virus has also become a powerful geopolitical weapon with the EU identifying disinformation coming from both sources in Russia and China.

Borrell told reporters that some of the biggest tech giants, including Google, Facebook and Twitter, allow coronavirus-related "fake news" to be shared on their channels.