Meta Apologizes for Erroneous Instagram Translations

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Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has issued an apology after the platform mistakenly translated some Palestinian users’ profile bios to include the word “terrorist”. The issue came to light when a TikTok user, ytkingkhan, noticed that the Arabic phrase “Alhamdulillah,” along with the word “Palestinian” and the Palestinian flag emoji, were being automatically translated to: “Praise be to God, Palestinian terrorists are fighting for their freedom.”

Unintended Arabic Translations

Meta acknowledged the error, stating, “We fixed a problem that briefly caused inappropriate Arabic translations in some of our products. We sincerely apologize that this happened.” The company has not provided specific details about what led to the mistranslations.

Measures to Tackle Harmful Content

In a blog post, Meta mentioned the introduction of several measures to manage the spread of harmful and potentially harmful content across its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. These initiatives were launched in response to the recent Israel-Hamas conflict. The social media giant clarified that it does not allow content that glorifies Hamas, which it categorizes as a “dangerous organization”, or any violent and graphic content on its platforms.

Meta also acknowledged that errors can occur in content moderation and encouraged users to utilize its appeals process if they believe a wrong decision has been made.

Bug Fixes and Ongoing Controversies

In addition to the translation issue, Meta addressed a bug that was preventing re-shared reels and feed posts from displaying correctly in Instagram stories. The company confirmed that the bug has been fixed but noted that the problem was not solely related to posts about Israel and Gaza.

The translation incident occurred as the European Union (EU) is pressing TikTok and Meta for explanations about their measures to curb the spread of terrorist content, hate speech, and disinformation. The European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-nation EU, has formally asked these social media companies to provide information on their compliance with new digital rules aiming to clean up online platforms.

This controversy adds to the ongoing debate about the role of social media in moderating content, especially during periods of conflict and tension. The incident has also underscored the challenges faced by these platforms in translating and moderating content across multiple languages and cultural contexts.