BBC Gaza Film Deemed a 'Serious' Breach of Media Standards, States Ofcom
The BBC engaged in a "significant breach" of media regulations by omitting to mention that the voice of a documentary about the Gaza conflict was the son of a Hamas administrator, as ruled by regulatory body Ofcom.
An investigation by the media regulator into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the programme was "significantly deceptive".
The head of the BBC had previously apologised, saying there had been "a serious error in relation to truthfulness".
The authority has instructed the broadcaster to broadcast a evening statement about its conclusions.
"As this represents a significant violation of our rules, we are directing the BBC to transmit a announcement of our findings against it on BBC Two at 21:00, with a date to be confirmed," the statement read.
'Risk to Damage Trust'
The regulator's announcement declared: "Our probe determined that the programme's omission to reveal that the presenter's male guardian served in a role in the Hamas-controlled government was substantially inaccurate.
"It meant that the viewers did not have essential details which may have been highly relevant to their judgment of the narrator and the details he provided.
"Credibility is at the center of the bond between a television network and its audience, notably for a national broadcasting corporation such as the BBC.
"This failing had the potential to undermine the exceptionally strong degrees of confidence that the public would have invested in a BBC factual programme about the Gaza conflict."
The documentary was pulled from the BBC's streaming service in February after the boy's family links were revealed, and in July an broadcaster's internal assessment determined it violated the organization's editorial guidelines on truthfulness.
A representative for the broadcaster commented: "The regulator's decision is in accordance with the findings of the internal assessment, that there was a serious error in the film in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on factual correctness, which corresponds to regulation 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We have apologised for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in complete. We will follow the sanction as soon as the schedule and language are confirmed."
