BBC Gaza Film Deemed a 'Significant' Breach of Media Rules, States Ofcom
The British broadcaster engaged in a "serious breach" of media regulations by failing to disclose that the narrator of a documentary about the Gaza situation was the son of a Hamas representative, as determined by regulatory body Ofcom.
An inquiry by the broadcasting watchdog into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the film was "materially misleading".
The head of the BBC had earlier expressed regret, stating there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy".
The regulator has instructed the broadcaster to broadcast a evening statement about its findings.
"Given this constitutes a significant violation of our code, we are ordering the corporation to transmit a statement of our findings against it on BBC2 at 9pm, with a schedule to be determined," the statement read.
'Risk to Erode Credibility'
The watchdog's report stated: "The inquiry we conducted determined that the documentary's failure to disclose that the presenter's male guardian occupied a post in the Hamas-administered government was significantly deceptive.
"It meant that the viewers did not have vital facts which may have been very significant to their judgment of the presenter and the content he presented.
"Confidence is at the center of the connection between a television network and its viewers, especially for a state-funded media outlet such as the BBC.
"This error had the risk to undermine the significantly high levels of credibility 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 February after the narrator's family links were revealed, and in July an internal BBC review concluded it violated the organization's editorial guidelines on factual correctness.
A BBC spokesperson stated: "The regulator's decision is in agreement with the findings of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a significant failing in the programme in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which aligns with clause 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We issued an apology for this and we accept the regulator's ruling in its entirety. We will comply with the sanction as soon as the schedule and wording are finalised."
