A recent incident involving faulty auto-translation on Meta's platforms has sparked outrage and concern, with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah leading the charge. The issue came to light when a condolence message posted by the Chief Minister's office in Kannada was inaccurately translated into English, falsely implying that Siddaramaiah himself had passed away. The mistranslation, which occurred on Facebook and Instagram, caused confusion and drew sharp criticism.

Siddaramaiah voiced his concerns on social media platform X, emphasizing that "faulty auto-translation of Kannada content on Meta platforms is distorting facts and misleading users". He further cautioned that this is "especially dangerous when it comes to official communication" and warned citizens to be aware that translations displayed on these platforms are often inaccurate. He stressed that such negligence by tech giants could harm public understanding and trust.

The Chief Minister's Media Advisor, K.V. Prabhakar, formally wrote to Meta, urging immediate correction of the issue. In the letter, Prabhakar raised serious concerns about the auto-translation of Kannada on Meta's platforms, particularly Facebook and Instagram. He noted that the auto-translation from Kannada to English is frequently inaccurate and, in some cases, grossly misleading. Prabhakar highlighted the significant risk this poses, especially when public communications, official statements, or important messages from the Chief Minister are incorrectly translated, potentially leading to misinterpretation among users who may not realize they are reading a faulty translation.

The Karnataka government has urged Meta to temporarily suspend the auto-translation feature for Kannada content until translation accuracy is reliably improved. Additionally, they suggested that Meta collaborate with qualified Kannada language experts and linguistic professionals to enhance the quality and contextual accuracy of translations between Kannada and English.

Meta has since apologized for the inaccurate Kannada translation and claimed to have fixed the issue. A Meta spokesperson stated, "We fixed an issue that briefly caused this inaccurate Kannada translation. We apologize that this happened". The company reiterated its commitment to improving translation accuracy, especially in Indian regional languages.

The incident has amplified calls for social media companies to ensure human oversight when deploying machine translation in languages like Kannada. It also raises broader concerns about the reliability of AI-based translation tools, particularly when used to translate sensitive or official information. Experts suggest that social media platforms must act responsibly and implement stricter oversight mechanisms to prevent such errors from recurring. They also suggest that these platforms should invest in better technology and collaborate with language experts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of translations.