BBC Gaza Programme Ruled a 'Major' Infringement of Broadcasting Standards, States Ofcom
The BBC was found to have committed a "major breach" of media regulations by failing to disclose that the narrator of a documentary about Gaza was the son of a Hamas administrator, as ruled by regulatory body Ofcom.
An probe by the media regulator into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the film was "significantly deceptive".
The head of the BBC had previously apologised, saying there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy".
Ofcom has directed the BBC to broadcast a evening statement about its findings.
"Given this constitutes a serious breach of our code, we are directing the BBC to air a announcement of our findings against it on BBC2 at 21:00, with a date to be finalised," the regulator stated.
'Potential to Erode Confidence'
The regulator's report said: "Our probe concluded that the documentary's failure to disclose that the narrator's male guardian occupied a role in the Hamas-controlled administration was significantly deceptive.
"This implied that the audience did not have critical information which may have been very significant to their judgment of the presenter and the content he presented.
"Confidence is at the heart of the bond between a television network and its audience, particularly for a public service broadcaster such as the BBC.
"This failing had the possibility to erode the exceptionally strong amounts of credibility that viewers would have placed in a documentary produced by the BBC about the conflict in Gaza."
The film was pulled from iPlayer in last February after the presenter's family links came to light, and in July an corporation's own inquiry found it infringed the broadcaster's content policies on truthfulness.
A representative for the broadcaster stated: "The regulator's decision is in line with the findings of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a major oversight in the documentary in relation to the corporation's content standards on truthfulness, which aligns with regulation 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We issued an apology for this and we accept the authority's determination in full. We will comply with the directive as soon as the timing and wording are confirmed."