Meta’s shameful translation turns Jordanian mourners into ‘Israelis’ after Karak attack
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
Meta’s translation tools has once again tried to erase Jordanian identity, converting a post about members of the Jordanian community gathering to honor victims of a deadly church attack into one about an “Israeli” community.
The “error” appeared on Instagram for a Roya News English post showing candlelit solidarity with the families of those killed at Hammoud Church in Karak.
View this post on Instagram
The original correctly described Jordanian mourners; Meta’s system substituted it with “Israeli”.
Side-by-side photos showing the original post and Meta's translation.
This is not the first time it happened.
Meta platforms have repeatedly flipped “Jordanian market,” tourism references, and other local contexts into “Israeli” equivalents, drawing sharp criticism in Jordan.
Digital experts have called the pattern more than random glitches, arguing it threatens national sovereignty and awareness by systematically rewriting basic geographic and national facts.
Read more: Facebook sparks backlash after translating ‘Jordanian market’ as ‘Israeli market’
Previously, users in Jordan reported a similar issue with Facebook posts.
One notable incident translated a post referring to the “Jordanian market” into Arabic as “السوق الإسرائيلي” (“Israeli market”).
Meta has offered no public explanation or fix for the recurring failures.
Karak church attack
On Friday, gunmen opened fire during a funeral at Saint George’s Greek Orthodox Church (Hammoud Church) in the village of Hammoud, Karak Governorate.
At least nine people were killed and around 40 wounded in the rare assault on Jordan’s Christian community.
King Abdullah II condemned it as a terrorist attack, vowing the “harshest retaliation” and declaring that those seeking to divide Jordanians “have no chance in the face of our unity.”
Funerals took place on Sunday with Jordanian flags on the coffins.
Community members held candlelit vigils to express solidarity.
