BBC Gaza Programme Deemed a 'Serious' Breach of Media Standards, States Ofcom
The British broadcaster engaged in a "major breach" of media regulations by omitting to mention that the narrator of a film about the Gaza conflict was the child of a Hamas official, according to British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An inquiry by Ofcom into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the documentary was "substantially inaccurate".
The head of the BBC had previously apologised, stating there had been "a significant failing in relation to truthfulness".
The authority has instructed the corporation to transmit a prime-time statement about its decisions.
"Since this amounts to a major infringement of our code, we are directing the broadcaster to broadcast a statement of our determinations against it on the BBC's second channel at 9pm, with a timing to be determined," it said.
'Potential to Erode Trust'
The watchdog's announcement declared: "Our investigation found that the documentary's lack of disclosure that the voice's male guardian occupied a post in the Hamas-administered administration was significantly deceptive.
"Consequently that the viewers did not have vital facts which may have been extremely pertinent to their evaluation of the narrator and the content he shared.
"Confidence is at the core of the bond between a television network and its audience, especially for a state-funded media outlet such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This failing had the possibility to damage the very considerable amounts of trust that audiences would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Israel-Gaza war."
The programme was withdrawn from the BBC's streaming service in the month of February after the presenter's family links came to light, and in July an internal BBC review determined it breached the corporation's editorial guidelines on truthfulness.
A corporation official commented: "The regulator's decision is in agreement with the results of the internal assessment, that there was a serious error in the film in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on truthfulness, which reflects Rule 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We expressed regret for this and we accept the authority's determination in complete. We will comply with the sanction as soon as the date and language are confirmed."
