18 July 2025 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau) : Social media giant Meta on Thursday issued an apology after a serious auto-translation error on its platforms inaccurately translated a condolence message shared by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, wrongly implying that he had passed away.
The blunder, which occurred on Meta-owned platforms Facebook and Instagram, sparked outrage after Siddaramaiah flagged the issue publicly. He expressed deep concern over the misleading translation and said such errors distort facts and mislead users—especially when it involves official communication.
In an X post, CM Siddaramaiah wrote, “Faulty auto-translation of Kannada content on Meta platforms is distorting facts and misleading users. This is especially dangerous when it comes to official communications.”
Karnataka government asked Meta to temporarily suspend the auto-translation feature for Kannada content until the system’s accuracy improves significantly. It also asked the platform to collaborate with qualified Kannada language experts and linguistic professionals to enhance the quality and contextual accuracy of translations between Kannada and English.
In an X post, CM Siddaramaiah wrote, “Faulty auto-translation of Kannada content on Meta platforms is distorting facts and misleading users. This is especially dangerous when it comes to official communications.”
Karnataka government asked Meta to temporarily suspend the auto-translation feature for Kannada content until the system’s accuracy improves significantly. It also asked the platform to collaborate with qualified Kannada language experts and linguistic professionals to enhance the quality and contextual accuracy of translations between Kannada and English.
Summary :
Meta mistakenly translated Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s condolence post as announcing his death. After complaints, the company apologized, fixed the translation, and paused Kannada auto‑translation.