Meta apologises for faulty Kannada translation, claims issue has been fixed

Bengaluru

Social media giant Meta has issued an apology for the inaccurate auto-translation of Kannada content on its platforms and said it has resolved the issue, following concerns raised by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

In a message shared on his official WhatsApp group, the Chief Minister said that faulty translations on platforms like Facebook and Instagram were distorting facts and misleading users, particularly in the context of official communications.

“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 said. He also confirmed that his media advisor had formally written to Meta seeking immediate corrective action.

Responding to the concerns, a Meta spokesperson said, “We fixed an issue that briefly caused this inaccurate Kannada translation. We apologise that this happened.”

Siddaramaiah also cautioned citizens to be vigilant about translations shown on social media platforms, stating, “Such negligence by tech giants can harm public understanding and trust. Social media platforms must act responsibly.”

An official communication sent by the CM’s media advisor, K. V. Prabhakar, to Meta on July 16 detailed serious concerns about the automatic translation of Kannada content on Facebook and Instagram. The Karnataka government has requested Meta to temporarily suspend the Kannada auto-translation feature until its accuracy is significantly improved.

Meta uses AI-powered machine translation across its platforms, including public biographies and specific posts. The company acknowledged that a translation model error had caused the inaccuracy, which it now claims to have corrected.

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