British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Film Ruled a 'Major' Violation of Broadcasting Regulations, States UK Media Regulator
The public service broadcaster was found to have committed a "significant breach" of industry standards by not revealing that the presenter of a documentary about Gaza was the child of a Hamas official, according to British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An investigation by the broadcasting watchdog into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the documentary was "significantly deceptive".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had earlier expressed regret, stating there had been "a significant failing in relation to factual correctness".
The regulator has instructed the BBC to air a evening declaration about its decisions.
"Since this amounts to a significant violation of our code, we are directing the BBC to broadcast a announcement of our conclusions against it on BBC Two at 9pm, with a date to be confirmed," the statement read.
'Potential to Damage Credibility'
The regulator's announcement stated: "Our investigation found that the film's omission to reveal that the presenter's father held a position in the Hamas-controlled authority was materially misleading.
"Consequently that the public did not have vital facts which may have been extremely pertinent to their evaluation of the narrator and the content he shared.
"Credibility is at the center of the relationship between a broadcaster and its audience, particularly for a national broadcasting corporation such as the BBC.
"This failing had the potential to erode the significantly high levels of credibility that audiences would have placed in a BBC factual programme about the Israel-Gaza war."
The film was removed from the BBC's streaming service in last February after the boy's familial connections came to light, and in July an corporation's own inquiry determined it infringed the organization's content policies on truthfulness.
A representative for the broadcaster said: "The authority's determination 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 reflects Rule 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We expressed regret for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in full. We will adhere to the penalty as soon as the schedule and wording are determined."
