Meta apologises for inaccurate Kannada translation, claims to have fixed issue

New Delhi: Social media major Meta on Thursday apologised for inaccurate Kannada translation and claimed to have fixed the issue, after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah raised concerns over faulty auto-translation of Kannada content on its platforms.

Raising concerns over the faulty auto-translation of Kannada content on Meta platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, Siddaramaiah said that it was leading to the distortion of facts and misleading users.

"We fixed an issue that briefly caused this inaccurate Kannada translation. We apologize that this happened," a Meta spokesperson said.

Siddaramaiah said social media platforms must act responsibly, especially when dealing with official communication, and cautioned citizens to be aware that translations displayed on these platforms are often inaccurate.

"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. My media advisor has formally written to Meta urging immediate correction," Siddaramaiah posted on 'X'.

"Social media platforms must act responsibly. I caution citizens to be aware that translations shown are often inaccurate. Such negligence by tech giants can harm public understanding and trust," he added.

In an email sent to Meta on July 16, the chief minister’s media advisor, K V Prabhakar, raised serious concerns on behalf of the CM regarding the automatic translation of Kannada content on Facebook and Instagram.

The Karnataka government has asked Meta to temporarily suspend the auto-translation feature for Kannada content until translation accuracy is reliably improved.

Machine translations are shown to users in various instances on Facebook and Instagram, including public biographical info and specific pieces of content.

In the case of Kannada auto-translation, Meta's AI machine translation model provided a machine translation error which caused inaccurate Kannada translations in Facebook-- which the company claims to have been fixed now.