THE head of the UN has warned the media and politicans to prevent extremists taking over during the pandemic with "a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering".

Secretary General Antonio Guterres has today appealed for a global pushback against "anti-foreigner sentiment", saying this has "surged online and in the streets".

Much of this, Guterres said, has involved conspiracy theories and seen migrants "vilified as a source of the virus", older people considered "the most expendable" and key workers and journalists targeted "simply for doing their jobs".

In an online appeal, Guterres called on politicians to show leadership at a time when "extremists are seeking to prey on captive and potentially despairing audiences".

Guterres called on the media to "remove racist, misogynist and other harmful content", on civil society to strengthen their outreach to vulnerable people, and on religious figures to serve as "models of mutual respect".

He said: "I ask everyone, everywhere, to stand up against hate, treat each other with dignity and take every opportunity to spread kindness."

The appeal follows his April 23 message which said the coronavirus pandemic was "a human crisis that is fast becoming a human rights crisis".

Guterres said then that the pandemic has seen "disproportionate effects on certain communities, the rise of hate speech, the targeting of vulnerable groups, and the risks of heavy-handed security responses undermining the health response".

With "rising ethno-nationalism, populism, authoritarianism and a push back against human rights in some countries, the crisis can provide a pretext to adopt repressive measures for purposes unrelated to the pandemic", he warned.

In February, Guterres urged countries, businesses and people to help renew and revive human rights across the globe, laying out a seven-point plan amid concerns about climate change, conflict and repression.