British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Documentary Ruled a 'Major' Breach of Media Rules, Says Ofcom
The BBC engaged in a "significant breach" of industry standards by omitting to mention that the presenter of a film about Gaza was the child of a Hamas representative, as ruled by regulatory body Ofcom.
An probe by Ofcom into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the documentary was "materially misleading".
The head of the BBC had previously apologised, stating there had been "a significant failing in relation to factual correctness".
The authority has ordered the broadcaster to broadcast a evening statement about its decisions.
"As this represents a serious breach of our regulations, we are ordering the broadcaster to transmit a announcement of our determinations against it on BBC2 at nine o'clock in the evening, with a schedule to be finalised," it said.
'Potential to Undermine Confidence'
The watchdog's report declared: "Our investigation concluded that the programme's lack of disclosure that the narrator's male guardian held a position in the Hamas-administered administration was significantly deceptive.
"It meant that the public did not have essential details which may have been extremely pertinent to their judgment of the presenter and the content he shared.
"Credibility is at the heart of the bond between a broadcaster and its viewers, especially for a national broadcasting corporation such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This error had the possibility to damage the significantly high degrees of trust that viewers would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the conflict in Gaza."
The documentary was removed from the BBC's streaming service in last February after the presenter's personal associations emerged, and in this past July an internal BBC review found it violated the corporation's content policies on factual correctness.
A BBC spokesperson commented: "The Ofcom ruling is in accordance with the conclusions of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a serious error in the documentary in relation to the corporation's content standards on accuracy, which aligns with clause 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We expressed regret for this and we comply with the authority's determination in its entirety. We will adhere to the sanction as soon as the timing and language are finalised."