BBC Gaza Film Ruled a 'Significant' Infringement of Media Standards, Declares Broadcasting Watchdog
The British broadcaster engaged in a "significant breach" of media regulations by not revealing that the presenter of a film about the Gaza situation was the son of a Hamas representative, as determined by UK media regulator Ofcom.
An investigation by the media regulator into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the documentary was "materially misleading".
The BBC's director general had already issued an apology, noting there had been "a major oversight in relation to accuracy".
Ofcom has ordered the corporation to air a evening declaration about its conclusions.
"As this represents a major infringement of our regulations, we are directing the corporation to broadcast a announcement of our findings against it on the BBC's second channel at nine o'clock in the evening, with a schedule to be determined," the regulator stated.
'Potential to Damage Credibility'
The watchdog's announcement stated: "The inquiry we conducted determined that the programme's omission to reveal that the narrator's male guardian served in a position in the Hamas-controlled government was substantially inaccurate.
"It meant that the public did not have vital facts which may have been extremely pertinent to their evaluation of the presenter and the content he presented.
"Trust is at the core of the connection between a television network and its viewers, particularly for a national broadcasting corporation such as the BBC.
"This error had the possibility to undermine the significantly high levels of trust that the public would have placed in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Israel-Gaza war."
The programme was removed from the online platform in the month of February after the presenter's familial connections emerged, and in the month of July an broadcaster's internal assessment determined 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 the internal assessment, that there was a serious error in the film in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on accuracy, which reflects Rule 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We issued an apology for this and we comply with the regulator's ruling in its entirety. We will comply with the penalty as soon as the timing and language are finalised."