British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Programme Deemed a 'Major' Infringement of Broadcasting Regulations, Declares Broadcasting Watchdog
The BBC engaged in a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the narrator of a programme about Gaza was the son of a Hamas administrator, according to British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An inquiry by the media regulator into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the documentary was "significantly deceptive".
The head of the BBC had previously apologised, saying there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy".
Ofcom has instructed the corporation to broadcast a evening statement about its conclusions.
"As this represents a significant violation of our code, we are directing the corporation to broadcast a statement of our determinations against it on BBC Two at 21:00, with a schedule to be determined," the statement read.
'Possibility to Damage Credibility'
The regulator's report said: "Our investigation found that the film's failure to disclose that the presenter's male guardian occupied a role in the Hamas-controlled administration was materially misleading.
"It meant that the audience did not have critical information which may have been extremely pertinent to their evaluation of the voice and the content he shared.
"Confidence is at the core of the connection between a media organization and its audience, notably for a state-funded media outlet such as the BBC.
"This error had the risk to erode the exceptionally strong levels of credibility that viewers would have put in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Israel-Gaza war."
The documentary was withdrawn from the online platform in the month of February after the narrator's familial connections came to light, and in July an corporation's own inquiry found it infringed the corporation's editorial guidelines on truthfulness.
A representative for the broadcaster commented: "The authority's determination is in agreement with the results of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a significant failing in the documentary in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which corresponds to clause 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We expressed regret for this and we accept the authority's determination in full. We will comply with the penalty as soon as the date and wording are determined."
