Google Translate tells world to 'live with communists'

3) discovered that Google Translate is now translating "down with ... in English, but the result Google spit out in Simplified Chinese was ... StayloggedinForgetpassword? Login Notyetamember？Register E-Mail 送出 返回登入頁 密碼設定成功，請使用新密碼登入  | Home World (GoogleTranslatescreenshot) (GoogleTranslatescreenshot) TAIPEI(TaiwanNews)—AChinesenetizenonMonday(Aug.3)discoveredthatGoogleTranslateisnowtranslating"downwithcommunists"as"livewithcommunists." InyetanotherexampleofBigTechactivelyorunwittinglydoingBeijing'sbidding,aChineseTwitteruseronMondaypostedascreenshotofsomestrangetranslationsandwrote"EveryonelookathowGoogleishelpingtheCommunistPartytocommitabuse." Inascreenshotbelow,sheshowedthatshehadtypedtheTraditionalChinesecharacters"打倒共匪,"meaning"DownwiththeCommunistBandits,"andtheGoogleEnglishtranslationwasafairlyaccurate"DownwiththeCommunists,"minusthe"Bandits."Shethensimilarlywrote"打倒共產黨,"meaning"DownwiththeCommunistParty,"andtheGoogleversionwasrightonthemark. (GoogleTranslatescreenshot) Inthenextscreenshot,shetyped"DownwiththeCommunists"inEnglish,buttheresultGooglespitoutinSimplifiedChinesewas"与共产党共处,"meaning"LivewiththeCommunistParty."Next,sheinputted"DownwiththeCommunistParty,andreceivedtheconsistentlysameadviceto"共处,"meaning"livewith"or"coexistwith"theCommunistParty. WhenTaiwanNewstypedin"DownwiththeCommunistBandits"inEnglish,GoogleTranslaterecommended,"LivingwithCommunistBandits"(與共產主義匪徒共處).Strangerstill,typingin"Downwiththe50-centParty"—thecolloquialtermforpaidpro-Chinatrolls—yielded"與50美分的聚會,"meaning"Partywith50cents." (GoogleTranslatescreenshot) Thereweremanytheoriesastowhythiswasoccurring,withoneuserobservingGoogleattimescanmistakenlytranslatetheoppositemeaning,suchasinterpretingcuttingtiestomean"establishingties"(建立聯繫)inMandarin.However,themajorityoftheover60peoplewhocommentedblamedGoogleTranslation'sheavyrelianceonandvulnerabilitytocrowdsourcing,inwhichrandomvolunteerscanmaketranslationsuggestions. GiventhelegionsofcybersoldiersatChina'sdisposal—roughlyestimatedbyForeignPolicytobebetween50,000to100,000—itisconceivablethatatargetedcampaignonspecifictranslationscouldyieldthedesiredresults.SuchcensorshipanddisinformationimposedbyChinesetrollshavebecomecommonplaceinWikipediaentries,YouTubecomments,MicrosoftBingtranslations,andcountlesspostsonallmajorsocialmediaplatforms,includingReddit. 大家看Google怎麼助共為虐的。

pic.twitter.com/oWrU7ZVJkY —Cindy(@cindywei2017)August2,2020 GoogleTranslatetranslationChinesetrolls50CentArmyChinacyberattackscyberwarfarecyberwarriorsBigTechGooglecensorhipChinesecensorshipdisinformation Tweet Chinaexploitssearchenginestoadvancepropaganda 2022/07/0815:31 TaiwanwarnsagainstChinameddlinginlocalelections 2022/07/0812:14 TaiwanesesingeroutragedbyChinachangingsonglyrics 2022/07/0512:57 SingerJackyCheungdefendsuseofslogan'HongKongaddoil' 2022/07/0410:58 ChinapushingdisinformationthatUSisabandoningTaiwan:MOFA 2022/06/2913:49 Updated:2022-07-0909:06GMT+08:00