Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
Social media giant Meta has issued an apology after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah raised alarm over the inaccurate auto-translation of Kannada content on its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. The company claims it has since fixed the glitch.
The issue came to light after multiple instances of faulty translations were spotted, leading to distortion of content and potentially misleading users, particularly in official communication. Expressing his concern, Siddaramaiah took to X (formerly Twitter) to call out the negligence.
“Faulty auto-translation of Kannada content on Meta platforms is distorting facts and misleading users. This is especially dangerous when it comes to official communication,” Siddaramaiah posted. “Social media platforms must act responsibly. I caution citizens to be aware that translations shown are often inaccurate.”
The Chief Minister’s media advisor, KV Prabhakar, also sent a formal email to Meta on July 16, urging the company to urgently rectify the problem and take preventive measures. The Karnataka government has now requested that Meta temporarily disable the auto-translate feature for Kannada until the system becomes more reliable.
Responding to the concerns, a Meta spokesperson said: “We fixed an issue that briefly caused this inaccurate Kannada translation. We apologise that this happened.”
Meta’s platforms often display automatic translations of user-generated content and public profile information using machine learning models. In this case, its AI-based translation system reportedly produced incorrect Kannada translations, an error the company attributes to a temporary technical issue.