Users are being misled by incorrect translation of Kannada on Meta’s platform: Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday expressed concern over incorrect auto-translation of Kannada content on Facebook and Instagram, saying it is distorting facts and misleading users. Siddaramaiah said his media advisor has formally written to Meta, the parent company of these platforms, urging immediate action. The Chief Minister said social media platforms should be responsible, especially in government communication. He said citizens should be aware that translations on these platforms are often incorrect. Siddaramaiah wrote on ‘X’, “Faulty auto-translation of Kannada content on the Meta platform is distorting facts and misleading users. This is especially dangerous in the case of official communication. My media advisor has formally written to Meta, urging immediate correction.” Chief Minister’s media advisor K.V. Prabhakar has expressed serious concern on behalf of the Chief Minister in this regard in a letter written to Meta on July 16. He wrote, “We have noted with concern that self-translation from Kannada to English is often inaccurate and in some cases very misleading.” Prabhakar said that given the sensitivity of government communication, especially letters from a constitutional authority like the Chief Minister, such inaccurate translation from a flawed translation tool is unacceptable.