British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Programme Ruled a 'Serious' Violation of Broadcasting Regulations, Declares UK Media Regulator
The British broadcaster engaged in a "significant breach" of industry standards by failing to disclose that the narrator of a programme about the Gaza conflict was the child of a Hamas representative, according to regulatory body Ofcom.
An investigation by the media regulator into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the film was "substantially inaccurate".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had already issued an apology, saying there had been "a serious error in relation to factual correctness".
The regulator has directed the corporation to transmit a evening statement about its conclusions.
"Since this amounts to a major infringement of our regulations, we are directing the broadcaster to transmit a statement of our findings against it on the BBC's second channel at 9pm, with a timing to be finalised," it said.
'Possibility to Undermine Trust'
The authority's announcement stated: "Our investigation determined that the documentary's failure to disclose that the presenter's father served in a role in the Hamas-run authority was materially misleading.
"It meant that the viewers did not have essential details which may have been highly relevant to their judgment of the voice and the details he presented.
"Confidence is at the core of the connection between a television network and its viewers, particularly for a public service broadcaster such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This failing had the potential to damage the significantly high degrees of confidence that the public would have invested in a documentary produced by the BBC about the Israel-Gaza war."
The documentary was withdrawn from the BBC's streaming service in last February after the boy's family links came to light, and in July an internal BBC review concluded it violated the corporation's journalistic standards on factual correctness.
A representative for the broadcaster said: "The regulator's decision is in line with the conclusions of the internal assessment, that there was a significant failing in the documentary in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on accuracy, which aligns with Rule 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We have apologised for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in full. We will adhere to the penalty as soon as the date and wording are finalised."
