CM Siddaramaiah posted on the demise of B. Saroja Devi. Meta's translation tool described him as deceased. Angered by this, he demanded correction and closure of the feature.
Karnataka CM: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's post written in Kannada was incorrectly translated into English by Meta's auto-translation tool, stating that he had died. This serious error came to light when Siddaramaiah expressed grief over the demise of actress B. Saroja Devi. Angered by this mistake, he tagged Meta and demanded that it be corrected. His media advisor has sent a formal letter to Meta appealing for the temporary suspension of the Kannada language translation feature.
Serious Lapse in Meta's Auto Translation
A major error surfaced on social media when a post written in Kannada by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was completely altered during translation into English by Meta's auto-translation tool. The post was written to express condolences on the demise of renowned South Indian actress B. Saroja Devi. However, when it was translated into English, it appeared as if Siddaramaiah himself had passed away.
The English translation of the post read – "Chief Minister Siddaramaiah passed away yesterday..." This error caused both confusion and concern on social media.
Chief Minister Expressed Displeasure by Tagging Meta
Siddaramaiah reacted bly to this lapse and publicly tagged Meta, calling it a "serious and misleading error." He stated that the incorrect auto-translation of the post written in Kannada was not only distorting facts but also confusing users.
He also added that such translation errors in official and sensitive communication could prove dangerous. Siddaramaiah demanded that Meta immediately correct this error.
Media Advisor Sent a Formal Letter to Meta
Regarding this matter, the Chief Minister's media advisor, KV Prabhakar, formally emailed Meta on July 16th. In the email, he described the incident as a matter of serious concern and requested the company to temporarily suspend the auto-translation feature for the Kannada language.
Prabhakar wrote that it would not be appropriate to keep the feature active until Meta ensures its accuracy and reliability. He also said that such errors not only create confusion on social media but also have a negative impact on public image and the communication system.
