Reddit has addressed a problem where the description of subreddits originally written by moderators appeared differently—and, often, inaccurately—on Reddit’s Android app. For weeks, the problem was largely suspected to be caused by Reddit clumsily using generative AI to create new subreddit descriptions. However, Reddit says that the changes were the fault of a bug tied to its AI-powered translation technology.
Reports of subreddits suddenly having inaccurate summaries when viewed on Reddit’s Android app started surfacing on Reddit a couple of weeks ago. On August 29, a moderator reported on the r/ModSupport subreddit for moderators that the r/ThronesAndDominions subreddit's description changed from “The wayward adventures of Dylan Carlson and the band Earth” to “The crazy adventures of Dylan Carlson and the band Earth.” The problem got more attention when r/actuallesbians’ Android app description described the community as “a place for straight and transgender lesbians …” instead of “a place for cis and trans lesbians …”
Other complaints followed, including from r/autisticparents, a subreddit for parents with autism whose description was changed to say that it is a group for “parents of autistic children.” A moderator who asked to be referred to by their Reddit username, Paige_Railstone, described the confusion that the changes brought to their subreddit:
Many of our subreddit’s users have seen their communities get overrun time and time again, so it is completely understandable that there would be a great deal of panic and concern when it became apparent that the description had been changed.
Reddit blames a translation glitch
Today, a Reddit admin, going by redtaboo on the site, apologized and offered an explanation for the inaccurate subreddit descriptions, saying that "a bug with our translation service took to translating from [E]nglish to [E]nglish."
Explaining further to Ars, Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt said:
There was a small bug in a test we ran that mistakenly caused the English-to-English translation(s) you saw. That bug has been resolved. Unsurprisingly, English-to-English translations are not part of our strategy, as they aren't necessary. English-to-English translations were not a desired or expected outcome of the test.
Reddit pulled the test it was running, but its machine learning-powered translations are still functioning, Rathschmidt said. The company plans to fix the bug and run its unspecified "test" again.
Reddit’s explanation differs from user theories floating around beforehand, which were mainly that Reddit was rewriting user-created summaries with generative AI, possibly to boost SEO. Some may still be perturbed by the problem persisting for weeks without explanation and the apparent lack of manual checks for the translation service. However, Redditors can now take comfort in knowing that Reddit is not currently using generative AI to alter user-generated content without notice.
Paige_Railstone, however, maintains frustration and wants to tell Reddit admins, “STOP. Hand off.” The translation bug, they noted, led to people posting on a subreddit for parents with autism that their child might be autistic, “and how terrible that would be for them,” Paige_Railstone recalled.
"These are the kind of unintentionally insulting posts that drive autistics into leaving a community, and it increases the workload of us moderators,” they said.
Paige_Railstone also sees the incident as a reason for moderators to be more cautious.
“This never used to be a concern, but this translation service was rolled out without any notification that I’m aware of, and no option to disable it within the mods' control. That has the potential to cause problems, as we’ve seen over the past two weeks,” they said.
Disclosure: Advance Publications, which owns Ars Technica parent Condé Nast, is the largest shareholder in Reddit.
The Metro by T-Mobile Phone Plan Offers Unlimited Talk, Text, and 5G Data for Just $25 Per Month