Response to '100,000 missing children' claims

While details contained in millions of documents released by the US Department of Justice regarding the Jeffrey Epstein case have also become a topic of discussion in Turkey, new claims regarding missing children have emerged in the public eye. Some social media accounts have put forward claims that more than 10,000 children go missing in Turkey every year. The DMM has issued a statement on the matter.

The statement from the DMM is as follows:

"Claims circulating on social media platforms that 'more than 10,000 children go missing in Turkey every year, and nearly 100,000 in the last 8 years' are not true.

Information shared by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) is being taken out of context and distorted before being served to the public. TÜİK statistics relate only to children for whom an official missing person report was filed and who were subsequently found. There is no situation in these data at the rates being claimed.

Furthermore, there is no official statistic published by public institutions under the heading of 'number of missing and unfound children.'

The claims in question were clearly and explicitly refuted by our Center for Combating Disinformation in 2024. Despite this, it has been determined that these disinformation-laden posts, which aim to mislead the public, are being intentionally recirculated.

It is kindly requested that the public does not give credence to posts containing disinformation."

News Source: 12punto