Meta apologises for faulty Kannada translations after CM Siddaramaiah's post, claims issue fixed
In a post on X on Thursday, Siddaramaiah had said that such faulty translations were 'misleading' and 'dangerous,' especially when they involved official government communication.
Responding to the concerns, a Meta spokesperson said, 'We fixed an issue that briefly caused this inaccurate Kannada translation. We apologize that this happened.'
Machine translation models on Meta's platforms are used to provide users with automated translations of biographical information and specific content. However, in the case of Kannada, the AI-generated translation had allegedly produced errors that distorted the original meaning of the posts and official statements.
Faulty auto-translation of Kannada content on @Meta platforms is distorting facts & misleading users. This is especially dangerous when it comes to official communications.
My Media Advisor Shri K V Prabhakar has formally written to Meta urging immediate correction.
Social… pic.twitter.com/tJBp38wcHr
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) July 17, 2025
'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 on X, adding that his media advisor had written to Meta, 'urging immediate correction'.
In the complaint dated July 16, K V Prabhakar, Media Advisor to Siddaramaiah, said, 'Auto-translation from Kannada to English is frequently inaccurate and, in some cases, grossly misleading. This poses a significant risk, especially when public communications or important messages from the Chief Minister and the government are incorrectly translated.'
'Given the sensitivity of public communication, especially from a constitutional functionary like the Chief Minister, such misrepresentations due to flawed translation mechanisms are unacceptable,' the letter added.
The Karnataka government also urged Meta to temporarily suspend the auto-translation feature for Kannada until translation quality improved, and to collaborate with qualified Kannada language experts to improve translation accuracy.
While Meta claims the issue has now been resolved, the Karnataka government reiterated the need for responsible action from tech companies, especially when dealing with public communication. 'Such negligence by tech giants can harm public understanding and trust,' Siddaramaiah cautioned, advising citizens to be mindful of translation inaccuracies on social media platforms.
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