A translation issue on Meta’s platforms led to confusion this week after a condolence post made by Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was wrongly interpreted as an announcement of his own death.
The post, originally shared in Kannada on Instagram and Facebook, was meant to mourn the passing of veteran actress B Saroja Devi. However, when users viewed the content in English, the automatic translation inaccurately conveyed that the Chief Minister himself had died.
According to local media reports, the error quickly drew attention and sparked criticism from Siddaramaiah, who highlighted concerns about the reliability of Meta’s translation system, especially for regional Indian languages like Kannada. He expressed concern that such mistranslations could mislead the public and distort official communications.
The mistranslated post reportedly stated that Siddaramaiah “paid his last respects” in a way that misleadingly suggested he had passed away. The error prompted Siddaramaiah’s media team to contact Meta, requesting not only a correction but also a temporary halt on Kannada auto-translations until improvements could be made. They also urged the company to consult with native language experts to enhance translation accuracy.
Meta confirmed it had corrected the issue and expressed regret over the confusion caused. However, it did not disclose whether Kannada translations would be paused while improvements were implemented.
As of Friday, the post still contained a clumsy English version implying the late actress had paid her respects, further highlighting ongoing issues with the system’s accuracy.
Source: NewsandVibes.com
