Reddit bug caused lesbian subreddit to be labeled as a place for “straight” women

Reddit has addressed a problem where the description of subreddits originally written by moderators appeared different—and, often, inaccurate—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."