BBC Gaza Film Deemed a 'Major' Infringement of Broadcasting Regulations, States Ofcom
The public service broadcaster was found to have committed a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the presenter of a film about Gaza was the offspring of a Hamas representative, as determined by UK media regulator Ofcom.
An investigation by the media regulator into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the film was "materially misleading".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had earlier expressed regret, saying there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy".
The authority has directed the broadcaster to transmit a prime-time announcement about its decisions.
"Given this constitutes a major infringement of our rules, we are directing the corporation to transmit a message of our determinations against it on the BBC's second channel at 9pm, with a timing to be finalised," it said.
'Risk to Erode Confidence'
The authority's report said: "Our probe determined that the documentary's lack of disclosure that the voice's parent held a position in the Hamas-administered administration was substantially inaccurate.
"Consequently that the public did not have essential details which may have been very significant to their assessment of the narrator and the content he presented.
"Trust is at the heart of the relationship between a television network and its audience, particularly for a state-funded media outlet such as the public broadcaster.
"This failing had the risk to undermine the very considerable levels of confidence that audiences would have placed in a BBC factual programme about the Gaza conflict."
The documentary was withdrawn from iPlayer in February after the boy's familial connections emerged, and in this past July an internal BBC review determined it violated the corporation's editorial guidelines on truthfulness.
A representative for the broadcaster stated: "The regulator's decision is in line with the findings of the internal assessment, that there was a significant failing in the film in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on factual correctness, which aligns with clause 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We have apologised for this and we comply with Ofcom's decision in full. We will adhere to the sanction as soon as the schedule and wording are determined."