Google Upsets Hongkongers With Translation Gaffe

Hong Kong social media lit up on Friday when people noticed that Google's translation software was churning out a rather odd suggestion during a week that has seen some of the worst political turmoil for years.

Eagle-eyed Google users discovered that when they entered the phrase "I am sad to see Hong Kong become part of China" the suggested translation in both traditional and simplified Chinese converted the word "sad" to "happy".

It was not immediately clear what sparked the gaffe but Danny Sullivan, an official at Google, said in a tweet "we're looking into why we had this translation and expect to have a fix to resolve it soon".

The company's hugely popular software tool uses complex algorithms and deep learning computers, as well as allowing users to make suggested translations to improve accuracy.

"Oh my god, I can't believe my eyes," one Facebook user commented under one of the many screen grabs of the incorrect translation that went viral on Friday.

"The app intentionally mistranslates the English to 'so happy/content' instead of 'so sad'," added student Rachel Wong on Twitter. "I hope Google fixes this."

When reporters entered the sentence "I am sad to see Hong Kong become part of China" on Friday morning it did show the wrong translation, replacing sad with happy.

An hour later a correct translation was showing.

On Thursday, the popular encrypted messaging app telegram, which is being used by extradition bill protesters to coordinate their action, announced it had suffered a major cyber-attack that originated from the mainland. (AFP)