British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Documentary Deemed a 'Significant' Breach of Broadcasting Regulations, Says UK Media Regulator
The British broadcaster engaged in a "serious breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the narrator of a programme about Gaza was the child of a Hamas official, according to regulatory body Ofcom.
An investigation by the media regulator into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the film was "substantially inaccurate".
The head of the BBC had previously apologised, stating there had been "a serious error in relation to accuracy".
Ofcom has directed the broadcaster to air a evening statement about its decisions.
"Since this amounts to a major infringement of our regulations, we are instructing the BBC to air a message of our determinations against it on BBC Two at 9pm, with a schedule to be confirmed," the regulator stated.
'Potential to Erode Confidence'
The watchdog's report stated: "The inquiry we conducted found that the film's lack of disclosure that the narrator's parent served in a role in the Hamas-run government was materially misleading.
"It meant that the public did not have vital facts which may have been extremely pertinent to their evaluation of the presenter and the details he presented.
"Credibility is at the heart of the bond between a media organization and its public, especially for a state-funded media outlet such as the public broadcaster.
"This failing had the potential to erode the significantly high degrees of credibility that audiences would have put in a factual film from the broadcaster about the conflict in Gaza."
The film was removed from the online platform in February after the presenter's personal associations came to light, and in this past July an broadcaster's internal assessment concluded it infringed the organization's editorial guidelines on accuracy.
A representative for the broadcaster said: "The regulator's decision is in accordance with the conclusions of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a significant failing in the programme in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on truthfulness, which aligns with regulation 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We have apologised for this and we accept the authority's determination in its entirety. We will adhere to the directive as soon as the timing and wording are determined."
