'Siddaramaiah Passes Away': Karnataka CM Orders Action After Kannada Auto-Translation Blunder
This sparked outrage, leading the CM to demand Meta suspend the Kannada translation feature until accuracy improves.
Meta's auto-translation tool caused a major blunder after it incorrectly translated a social media post by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah declaring him dead, sparking outrage and prompting a formal complaint from the Chief Minister's Office. Following the gaffe, Meta issued an apology saying the issue has been fixed.
The blunder occurred when the Chief Minister's Office posted a condolence message in Kannada on Facebook, mourning the passing of legendary actress B Saroja Devi. However, Meta’s English auto-translation distorted the post, reading: "Chief Minister Siddaramaiah passed away yesterday, a multilingual star, senior actress B. Took darshan of Sarojadevi's earthly body and paid his last respects."
The glaring mistranslation quickly drew widespread attention and criticism, especially given its official nature. Reacting sharply, Siddaramaiah called out Meta and urged the suspension of its Kannada auto-translation feature until it can deliver accurate and contextually sound results.
“Faulty auto-translation of Kannada content on Meta platforms is distorting facts and misleading users. This is especially dangerous when it comes to official communications,” Siddaramaiah posted on X (formerly Twitter), adding that his media adviser, K.V. Prabhakar, had written formally to Meta demanding immediate corrective action.
He further cautioned citizens to treat such translations with scepticism. “Social media platforms must act responsibly. Such negligence by tech giants can harm public understanding and trust,” he said.
CM's Adviser Writes To Meta
The Chief Minister’s media adviser also shared a detailed letter addressed to Meta, calling the mistranslation “grossly misleading” and urging the company to collaborate with Kannada language experts to improve translation quality.
“We have noted with concern that the auto-translation from Kannada to English is frequently inaccurate. This poses a significant risk, especially when public communications or official statements from the Chief Minister are involved,” the letter stated. It also flagged the potential for misinformation among readers who may not realise they are reading a machine-generated translation.
The Meta also issued an apology over the mistranslation and said the issue has been fixed.
"We fixed an issue that briefly caused this inaccurate Kannada translation. We apologize that this happened," said a Meta spokesperson, reported PTI.
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