Facebook has apologized for translating the name of Chinese President Xi Jinping from Burmese into English with an obscene word on its platform.
This translation error was revealed on the second day of Mr. Xi’s official visit to Burma.
On Saturday, Mr. Xi met with the Burmese leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in order to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
However, in the Burmese Facebook messages concerning this meeting, Mr. Xi’s name had been incorrectly translated into English.
In the Facebook messages shared on the official accounts of Mrs Suu Kyi and her office, the name of the Chinese leader appeared as “Mr Shithole” (“Mr Asshole”).
The same Saturday, Facebook reacted to this incident in a statement blaming this translation error on “a technical problem”.
Facebook spokesman Andy Stone said: “We have fixed a technical issue that was causing incorrect translations from Burmese to English on Facebook. “This should not have happened and we are taking measures to ensure that it does not happen again. »
