Historian denies claim of migrant remark by Meloni during Istanbul visit
ISTANBUL
Prominent historian İlber Ortaylı, who accompanied Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during her visit to Istanbul over the weekend, has denied the claims regarding her alleged proposal on migrants that stirs debated and controversy on social media.
Prior to her meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Jan. 20, Meloni visited the Grand Bazaar, with Ortaylı providing insights into the structure’s history.
Shortly after the visit, a large number of social media users claimed that Meloni expressed a desire to send African immigrants from Italy to Türkiye during her time with Ortaylı, leading to strong criticism.
The Presidential Communication Directorate's Center for Combating Disinformation on Jan. 23 released a statement refuting any agreement or discussion between Ankara and Rome concerning the deportation of African migrants to Türkiye.
The statement clarified that the allegations stemmed from a news in the Il Giornale newspaper, associated with Italy's right-wing coalition government.
Meanwhile, the historian rejected the notion that the Italian Prime Minister made such remarks, adding that Ortaylı’s statements and criticisms on the claims in an televised interview were manipulated and disseminated on social media to create misinformation.
"What is being talked about and spread on social media is incomprehensible. We did not discuss anything about migrants with Prime Minister Meloni during the Grand Bazaar visit. She did not utter any words like 'African migrants in our country will come to you, be prepared.' Where did this issue come from in Türkiye? Some expressions from foreign media are being quoted. The fact that these have such an impact in Türkiye is frightening. Information is spreading and being utilized without verification,” Ortaylı told daily Hürriyet.
"We did not engage in political discussions with the prime minister. It was not the agenda or atmosphere of that day,” he added.
