BBC Gaza Film Ruled a 'Serious' Violation of Media Regulations, Declares Broadcasting Watchdog
The British broadcaster engaged in a "major breach" of media regulations by omitting to mention that the presenter of a film about the Gaza conflict was the son of a Hamas administrator, according to UK media regulator Ofcom.
An investigation by the broadcasting watchdog into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the programme was "materially misleading".
The head of the BBC had earlier expressed regret, stating there had been "a serious error in relation to factual correctness".
Ofcom has ordered the corporation to broadcast a prime-time announcement about its decisions.
"Since this amounts to a serious breach of our code, we are directing the BBC to air a announcement of our determinations against it on BBC Two at 9pm, with a schedule to be determined," the statement read.
'Risk to Erode Credibility'
The watchdog's announcement said: "The inquiry we conducted determined that the programme's lack of disclosure that the narrator's father held a role in the Hamas-run administration was significantly deceptive.
"It meant that the viewers did not have essential details which may have been highly relevant to their evaluation of the voice and the content he provided.
"Confidence is at the center of the connection between a television network and its viewers, especially for a public service broadcaster such as the public broadcaster.
"This failing had the possibility to erode the exceptionally strong amounts of confidence that audiences would have placed in a documentary produced by the BBC about the conflict in Gaza."
The programme was removed from the online platform in last February after the boy's personal associations emerged, and in this past July an corporation's own inquiry determined it breached the broadcaster's editorial guidelines on factual correctness.
A representative for the broadcaster commented: "The regulator's decision is in agreement with the conclusions of the internal assessment, that there was a major oversight in the documentary in relation to the corporation's content standards on truthfulness, which aligns with Rule 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We have apologised for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in full. We will comply with the directive as soon as the schedule and language are determined."
