British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Film Deemed a 'Major' Breach of Media Rules, States UK Media Regulator
The BBC was found to have committed a "major breach" of media regulations by failing to disclose that the voice of a film about Gaza was the offspring of a Hamas representative, as determined by regulatory body Ofcom.
An investigation by Ofcom into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the documentary was "substantially inaccurate".
The head of the BBC had earlier expressed regret, stating there had been "a serious error in relation to truthfulness".
The regulator has instructed the broadcaster to broadcast a peak-time statement about its conclusions.
"Given this constitutes a significant violation of our code, we are directing the BBC to air a statement of our determinations against it on the BBC's second channel at 21:00, with a date to be finalised," it said.
'Potential to Erode Trust'
The watchdog's report stated: "Our investigation found that the programme's failure to disclose that the narrator's parent occupied a post in the Hamas-administered authority was materially misleading.
"Consequently that the viewers did not have essential details which may have been highly relevant to their assessment of the narrator and the details he provided.
"Confidence is at the center of the connection between a media organization and its viewers, particularly for a public service broadcaster such as the BBC.
"This error had the potential to undermine the significantly high levels of trust that the public would have put in a factual film from the broadcaster about the conflict in Gaza."
The programme was removed from the online platform in the month of February after the presenter's familial connections emerged, and in July an internal BBC review determined it breached the broadcaster's editorial guidelines on factual correctness.
A BBC spokesperson commented: "The authority's determination is in agreement with the findings of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a serious error in the programme in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which aligns with Rule 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We expressed regret for this and we agree with the authority's determination in complete. We will adhere to the directive as soon as the timing and wording are finalised."