BBC Gaza Documentary Ruled a 'Serious' Violation of Media Regulations, States UK Media Regulator
The public service broadcaster engaged in a "major breach" of industry standards by failing to disclose that the presenter of a programme about Gaza was the son of a Hamas representative, as determined by UK media regulator Ofcom.
An investigation by Ofcom into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the documentary was "substantially inaccurate".
The BBC's director general had earlier expressed regret, noting there had been "a significant failing in relation to truthfulness".
The regulator has ordered the BBC to air a prime-time declaration about its decisions.
"As this represents a major infringement of our rules, we are ordering the broadcaster to broadcast a announcement of our findings against it on BBC Two at 9pm, with a timing to be confirmed," the regulator stated.
'Potential to Erode Confidence'
The watchdog's announcement said: "Our probe concluded that the programme's lack of disclosure that the voice's parent occupied a post in the Hamas-administered administration was substantially inaccurate.
"It meant that the viewers did not have essential details which may have been highly relevant to their judgment of the presenter and the details he presented.
"Trust is at the center of the bond between a television network and its viewers, particularly for a public service broadcaster such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This failing had the possibility to damage the significantly high amounts of credibility that the public would have placed in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Israel-Gaza war."
The film was withdrawn from iPlayer in the month of February after the narrator's familial connections emerged, and in July an broadcaster's internal assessment found it violated the corporation's editorial guidelines on accuracy.
A corporation official said: "The Ofcom ruling is in agreement with the results of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a significant failing in the programme in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on factual correctness, which reflects clause 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We have apologised for this and we comply with the authority's determination in complete. We will adhere to the directive as soon as the schedule and wording are confirmed."
