Republic of Türkiye, Directorate of Communications, Center for Countering Disinformation has refuted claims that 2.5 million refugees, mostly Syrians, live in İstanbul, which has a population of 16 million.
Center for Combating Disinformation released a statement saying; "The alleged figures regarding the number of foreigners in İstanbul do not reflect the truth. According to the official figures of the Presidency of Migration Management, there are 1 million 87 thousand 17 foreigners in İstanbul, of which 530,612 are under temporary protection, 3,252 under international protection, and 553,153 with residence permit."