BBC Gaza Film Ruled a 'Serious' Infringement of Media Regulations, States Broadcasting Watchdog
The BBC was found to have committed a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the presenter of a programme about the Gaza conflict was the offspring of a Hamas administrator, according to British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An probe by Ofcom into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the film was "substantially inaccurate".
The head of the BBC had previously apologised, noting there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy".
The regulator has ordered the broadcaster to air a peak-time declaration about its conclusions.
"Since this amounts to a serious breach of our rules, we are directing the BBC to air a message of our findings against it on BBC2 at 9pm, with a timing to be confirmed," it said.
'Possibility to Undermine Credibility'
The watchdog's statement stated: "Our probe concluded that the documentary's omission to reveal that the narrator's father held a role in the Hamas-run administration was substantially inaccurate.
"Consequently that the viewers did not have critical information which may have been very significant to their judgment of the narrator and the content he shared.
"Confidence is at the center of the relationship between a television network and its public, especially for a state-funded media outlet such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This error had the risk to undermine the exceptionally strong amounts of credibility that audiences would have put in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Gaza conflict."
The documentary was withdrawn from the online platform in the month of February after the presenter's personal associations came to light, and in this past July an corporation's own inquiry found it breached the corporation's editorial guidelines on truthfulness.
A BBC spokesperson said: "The regulator's decision is in line with the findings of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a serious error in the film in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on truthfulness, which corresponds to clause 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We expressed regret for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in complete. We will comply with the directive as soon as the timing and wording are confirmed."
