Meta has issued an apology after a major translation blunder on its platforms falsely declared Indian politician Siddaramaiah, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, as deceased. The error occurred when a condolence message posted in the Kannada language was auto-translated into English, incorrectly suggesting that the chief minister himself had “passed away.”
The post, shared by Siddaramaiah on Facebook and Instagram on Tuesday, was intended to mourn the death of veteran actress B Saroja Devi. However, Meta’s translation algorithm misinterpreted the message, creating confusion and prompting concern among users.
By Thursday, Meta acknowledged the issue. A spokesperson told the Press Trust of India (PTI): “We fixed an issue that briefly caused this inaccurate Kannada translation. We apologise that this happened.”
The error sparked sharp criticism from Siddaramaiah, who condemned Meta’s Kannada auto-translate feature for “distorting facts” and “misleading users.” He stressed that such inaccuracies are especially dangerous when they involve official communications from public figures.
In response, Siddaramaiah’s media advisor, KV Prabhakar, formally wrote to Meta on Thursday. He urged the company to temporarily suspend Kannada auto-translations until their accuracy improves, and recommended working closely with Kannada language experts to prevent future errors.
As of Friday, the English translation of the condolence post still appeared awkward and misleading. A version seen by the BBC read:
“The multilingual star, senior actress B Sarojadevi who passed away yesterday, paid his last respects.”
Meta has not yet confirmed whether it will suspend Kannada translations, but the incident has reignited debate about the reliability of AI-powered language tools, particularly for regional languages that may lack robust datasets.
Written By Rodney Mbua
