Vandals emblazoned Tynemouth's beloved Lord Collingwood statue in graffiti to spread bizarre Covid-19 conspiracy theories.
Yobs covered the Geordie war hero's monuments in claims that the virus - which has killed almost 60,000 Brits - is a "hoax" and a "scam".
A Nazi swastika was also emblazoned on the 19th Century monument.
A Northumbria Police investigation is under way while taxpayer's cash was spent to remove the graffiti, which was almost identical to scribbles left in Jesmond Dene back in June.
Despite the grim death toll and global economic devastation, a vocal minority of people believe the threat of the virus has been, at the very least, over-hyped while some believe that Covid-19 simply doesn't exist.
Much of these widely discredited views have been fuelled by misinformation on social media.
A recent study by OFCOM found that a third of adults are reading 'fake news' about Covid-19 on sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter each week.
Among the most common examples of this are claims that face masks are harmful, and that flu is killing more people than coronavirus.
Yet there are fears misinformation is significantly hampering our efforts to beat the pandemic.
As Britain prepares to start a mass-vaccination programme, there are fears that a growing pool of people - especially younger adults - may snub the vaccine due to concerns sparked by incorrect claims they've read online.
“We’re not just battling the virus,” said World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus previously.
"“We’re also battling the trolls and conspiracy theorists that push misinformation and undermine the outbreak response.”
But while scientists are battling misinformation, police are targeting the culprits behind the latest act of graffiti in the North East linked to conspiracy theorists.
This time, the target was the Grade II listed statue, erected to commemorate Lord Nelson's second-in-command and a man often regarded as the forgotten hero of the Battle of Trafalgar having fired the first shot.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “We can confirm we received a report on Saturday morning of graffiti on the Lord Collingwood statue in Tynemouth.
"Enquiries to identify those responsible are ongoing and anyone with information is encouraged to contact police on 101 quoting log 1117 28/11/20.”
