BBC Gaza Programme Ruled a 'Significant' Violation of Media Regulations, Says Broadcasting Watchdog
The British broadcaster engaged in a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the voice of a programme about Gaza was the child of a Hamas representative, according to British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An investigation by the broadcasting watchdog into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the documentary was "significantly deceptive".
The head of the BBC had already issued an apology, stating there had been "a significant failing in relation to truthfulness".
The authority has ordered the corporation to air a peak-time announcement about its findings.
"As this represents a serious breach of our rules, we are directing the broadcaster to broadcast a statement of our findings against it on BBC2 at 9pm, with a schedule to be determined," the statement read.
'Potential to Erode Credibility'
The regulator's statement declared: "Our investigation determined that the film's omission to reveal that the narrator's parent held a position in the Hamas-run government was materially misleading.
"Consequently that the audience did not have vital facts which may have been highly relevant to their assessment of the voice and the information he shared.
"Trust is at the core of the connection between a television network and its audience, notably for a state-funded media outlet such as the BBC.
"This oversight had the possibility to undermine the exceptionally strong levels of credibility that the public would have invested in a BBC factual programme about the Gaza conflict."
The film was removed from the BBC's streaming service in last February after the presenter's personal associations came to light, and in this past July an internal BBC review determined it infringed the corporation's content policies on factual correctness.
A BBC spokesperson commented: "The Ofcom ruling is in accordance with the conclusions of the internal assessment, that there was a major oversight in the film in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on factual correctness, which aligns with Rule 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We expressed regret for this and we comply with the regulator's ruling in complete. We will comply with the directive as soon as the timing and wording are confirmed."
