British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Film Considered a 'Significant' Breach of Media Standards, States Broadcasting Watchdog
The BBC was found to have committed a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the narrator of a programme about the Gaza conflict was the son of a Hamas representative, as determined by UK media regulator Ofcom.
An investigation by the broadcasting watchdog into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the programme was "substantially inaccurate".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had previously apologised, stating there had been "a major oversight in relation to factual correctness".
The authority has instructed the corporation to broadcast a evening declaration about its findings.
"As this represents a serious breach of our regulations, we are ordering the BBC to air a announcement of our findings against it on BBC2 at 21:00, with a date to be finalised," the statement read.
'Potential to Undermine Confidence'
The regulator's statement said: "Our probe found that the documentary's failure to disclose that the presenter's father served in a post in the Hamas-controlled administration was significantly deceptive.
"Consequently that the public did not have critical information which may have been extremely pertinent to their judgment of the voice and the content he provided.
"Trust is at the center of the relationship between a television network and its viewers, especially for a public service broadcaster such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This failing had the potential to erode the significantly high levels of confidence that viewers would have placed in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Israel-Gaza war."
The film was withdrawn from the BBC's streaming service in February after the narrator's familial connections emerged, and in the month of July an corporation's own inquiry found it breached the broadcaster's editorial guidelines on factual correctness.
A representative for the broadcaster stated: "The authority's determination is in accordance with the findings of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a major oversight in the programme in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on truthfulness, which reflects clause 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We expressed regret for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in full. We will comply with the penalty as soon as the timing and wording are determined."
