British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Programme Deemed a 'Significant' Infringement of Media Rules, Says UK Media Regulator
The British broadcaster was found to have committed a "significant breach" of industry standards by omitting to mention that the voice of a film about Gaza was the child of a Hamas representative, as determined by regulatory body Ofcom.
An inquiry by Ofcom into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the film was "materially misleading".
The head of the BBC had already issued an apology, noting there had been "a major oversight in relation to accuracy".
Ofcom has ordered the BBC to air a prime-time announcement about its decisions.
"As this represents a significant violation of our rules, we are ordering the BBC to broadcast a announcement of our findings against it on the BBC's second channel at 9pm, with a date to be determined," the regulator stated.
'Risk to Undermine Trust'
The watchdog's report declared: "Our investigation concluded that the documentary's omission to reveal that the presenter's father occupied a role in the Hamas-administered government was materially misleading.
"It meant that the viewers did not have critical information which may have been extremely pertinent to their evaluation of the narrator and the details he provided.
"Confidence is at the heart of the connection between a media organization and its public, especially for a state-funded media outlet such as the public broadcaster.
"This oversight had the potential to undermine the exceptionally strong levels of confidence that audiences would have placed in a documentary produced by the BBC about the conflict in Gaza."
The documentary was withdrawn from the BBC's streaming service in February after the presenter's familial connections were revealed, and in the month of July an corporation's own inquiry concluded it violated the broadcaster's journalistic standards on accuracy.
A representative for the broadcaster stated: "The authority's determination is in accordance with the findings of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a major oversight in the film in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which aligns with clause 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We issued an apology for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in full. We will adhere to the directive as soon as the timing and wording are finalised."
