Fact check: Did Noble laureate Dr Tasuku Honjo reveal coronavirus is man-made?

One of most brilliant minds in world right w is Japanese immulogist and physician-scientist Tasuku Honjo. Having a ble Prize in Physiology or Medicine and a Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences for successfully finding mechanisms responsible for diversification of antibodies, it is only plausible for Dr Tasuku Honjo to share his views about ongoing coronavirus pandemic. On various instances recently, Dr Tasuku Honjo has talked on lengths about COVID-19 outbreak and how curve can be flattened. But, it has w been revealed that various stories on social media and Internet are using Dr Tasuku Honja's credits and sharing maliciously fake news. 

Also read: AP FACT CHECK: Trump's baseless ories on coronavirus

Claim 

A recently viral mess on social media is claiming that ble Prize Winner Dr Tasuku Honjo has called COVID-19 a man-made virus. mess claims that Dr Honjo said it was evident that coronavirus outbreak has been pre-planned as natural viruses do t spread so fast and travel across countries. Besides this, mess states that Dr Tasuku Honjo was associated with Wuhan laboratory for four years and is acquainted with staff, but hasn't been able to contact any of scientists re as ir phones are t active, claiming that scientists in Wuhan laboratory have died. 

Also read: Fact Check: Did Donald Trump advise injecting people with disinfectant to fight COVID-19?

Also read: Fact Check: Did Singapore appeal to all nations to suspend zoo culture?

Rating - FALSE

In his recent interviews, Dr Tasuku Honjo has only talked about importance of flattening curve of coronavirus and how countries should abide by a pro-active approach to ensure virus can be dealt with effectively. He has been voicing his thoughts and also criticizing various countries for prioritising ir ecomies over people's lives but Dr Tasuku Honjo hasn't spoken about origin of virus in any way. A quick glance through his official website can prove furrmore that immulogist did t have any collaborations with Wuhan Laboratory eir. 

Origin 

viral mess first found its way to WhatsApp messenger, which time after time has proven to be an easy platform for fake news spreaders to do ir job. Once fake piece of news went viral on WhatsApp, it quickly caught on to or social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Check it out below - 

Google Trends analysis

As fake news about Dr Tasuku Honjo's claims on coronavirus outbreak started going viral on internet. People started searching behind credibility of this news on Google. This resulted in a surge of Google searches about same. Check it out below - 

Also read: Fact check: Did US state of Missouri sue China over Coronavirus outbreak?

Also read: Fact Check: Is Ministry of Human Resources giving free access to National Digital Library?