Does this show a document with the 'release dates' of COVID-19 variants?

It's understood the claim has been spreading online for several months.

With cases of the B.1.1.529 COVID-19 variant - named 'Omicron' - spreading around the globe, misinformation about it is doing the same.

One viral image shows a supposed document with the 'release dates' of new COVID-19 variants.

Included in it is 'Omicron' which was supposedly going to be released in May 2022.

However, the viral image provides no evidence for its claim.

The image shows the logos of the World Health Organization, the World Economic Forum, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation & John Hopkins University.

The first 3 of those all told Reuters that they are not responsible for the document.

Others online have questioned how the document "predicted" the names of the variants - but an explanation is simple.

In late May, the WHO announced their new naming system with Greek letters - and the image is believed to have originated in July.

RATING: NO EVIDENCE

Want to help stop misinformation & inform others? Share the link to this story on social media & with your family & friends using the buttons below.

See something you want fact-checked? Send us a DM on social media OR email us: contact@6newsau.com