After Siddaramaiah pulls up Meta for declaring him dead, Platform apologises, says issue fixed

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

In a major blunder, Meta's automatic translation tool wrongly declared Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah dead while translating a condolence message he posted on Facebook on Tuesday.

Furious at the blunder, Siddaramaiah told Meta to suspend its Kannada auto-translation, saying it distorts facts and misleads users.

Social media major Meta on Thursday apologised for inaccurate Kannada translation and claimed to have fixed the issue, after Siddaramaiah pulled the platform for distorting facts.

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 apologise 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.