British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Programme Considered a 'Significant' Violation of Broadcasting Standards, Declares Ofcom
The BBC committed a "significant breach" of media regulations by failing to disclose that the presenter of a film about Gaza was the child of a Hamas representative, as determined by regulatory body Ofcom.
An inquiry by Ofcom into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the documentary was "materially misleading".
The head of the BBC had earlier expressed regret, stating there had been "a significant failing in relation to truthfulness".
The regulator has instructed the broadcaster to broadcast a prime-time statement about its decisions.
"Given this constitutes a serious breach of our code, we are ordering the corporation to transmit a announcement of our findings against it on BBC Two at 9pm, with a timing to be determined," the statement read.
'Possibility to Undermine Trust'
The watchdog's report stated: "Our probe found that the documentary's lack of disclosure that the narrator's parent held a position in the Hamas-controlled authority was materially misleading.
"It meant that the viewers did not have critical information which may have been highly relevant to their judgment of the narrator and the content he provided.
"Confidence is at the center of the bond between a broadcaster and its viewers, particularly for a public service broadcaster such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This error had the possibility to undermine the significantly high levels of credibility that the public would have placed in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Israel-Gaza war."
The film was removed from the BBC's streaming service in the month of February after the narrator's personal associations emerged, and in the month of July an corporation's own inquiry found it infringed the organization's editorial guidelines on truthfulness.
A representative for the broadcaster stated: "The regulator's decision is in agreement with the results of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a significant failing in the programme in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on truthfulness, which corresponds to clause 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We have apologised for this and we accept the regulator's ruling in its entirety. We will follow the directive as soon as the timing and wording are confirmed."
