BBC Gaza Programme Ruled a 'Significant' Breach of Media Regulations, Says UK Media Regulator
The BBC engaged in a "serious breach" of broadcasting rules by not revealing that the voice of a programme about the Gaza situation was the offspring of a Hamas administrator, according to regulatory body Ofcom.
An probe by the broadcasting watchdog into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the film was "materially misleading".
The BBC's director general had previously apologised, saying there had been "a serious error in relation to truthfulness".
Ofcom has directed the corporation to broadcast a evening statement about its conclusions.
"As this represents a major infringement of our regulations, we are ordering the broadcaster to broadcast a message of our findings against it on BBC Two at 9pm, with a schedule to be confirmed," the statement read.
'Possibility to Damage Confidence'
The authority's announcement said: "The inquiry we conducted determined that the documentary's lack of disclosure that the presenter's parent served in a role in the Hamas-controlled authority was significantly deceptive.
"Consequently that the public did not have essential details which may have been extremely pertinent to their assessment of the presenter and the details he presented.
"Credibility is at the center of the bond between a television network and its audience, particularly for a public service broadcaster such as the public broadcaster.
"This oversight had the potential to undermine the significantly high amounts of trust that the public would have invested in a BBC factual programme about the Israel-Gaza war."
The documentary was pulled from the BBC's streaming service in February after the presenter's familial connections were revealed, and in July an corporation's own inquiry determined it violated the organization's content policies on accuracy.
A BBC spokesperson stated: "The regulator's decision is in accordance with the findings of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a major oversight in the programme in relation to the corporation's content standards on truthfulness, which corresponds to clause 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We have apologised for this and we agree with Ofcom's decision in full. We will follow the directive as soon as the date and wording are finalised."
