British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Film Deemed a 'Major' Infringement of Broadcasting Regulations, Declares UK Media Regulator
The BBC committed a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by omitting to mention that the narrator of a film about Gaza was the son of a Hamas representative, according to British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An probe by the media regulator into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the film was "significantly deceptive".
The BBC's director general had previously apologised, noting there had been "a serious error in relation to factual correctness".
The authority has directed the broadcaster to broadcast a prime-time announcement about its findings.
"Given this constitutes a significant violation of our code, we are directing the corporation to transmit a announcement of our conclusions against it on the BBC's second channel at 21:00, with a schedule to be finalised," it said.
'Possibility to Erode Credibility'
The regulator's report stated: "Our investigation determined that the documentary's failure to disclose that the voice's father held a position in the Hamas-controlled administration was substantially inaccurate.
"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 provided.
"Credibility is at the core of the bond between a television network and its viewers, particularly for a state-funded media outlet such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This error had the potential to damage the very considerable degrees of confidence that the public would have placed in a documentary produced by the BBC about the Gaza conflict."
The film was pulled from the BBC's streaming service in last February after the narrator's familial connections emerged, and in July an broadcaster's internal assessment determined it breached the organization's journalistic standards on truthfulness.
A corporation official stated: "The regulator's decision is in line with the results of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a significant failing in the documentary in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on accuracy, which corresponds to regulation 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We issued an apology for this and we accept Ofcom's decision in complete. We will comply with the directive as soon as the date and wording are confirmed."
