Desktop directory disappears in gnome-terminal, then appears again, but all files in it are deleted

Question

I am able to see my Desktop and with all its various links and files. But in the terminal when I try to access the Desktop directory:

cd ~/Desktop

I get:

bash: cd: /home/administrator/Desktop: No such file or directory

Then I find I am unable to access any of the files on the Desktop when I click on them although the file icons are there. Then the icons disappear after my clicking on them.

Then I am able to access the Desktop directory in the terminal but the directory is empty i.e. all the files/folders have been deleted. What's going on? How can I fix this?

Answer 1

I think I must have moved the Desktop directory accidentally as I found a copy of the Desktop directory located in another directory.