British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Programme Deemed a 'Major' Infringement of Broadcasting Regulations, Says Broadcasting Watchdog
The BBC engaged in a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by omitting to mention that the narrator of a film about the Gaza conflict was the child of a Hamas administrator, as determined by British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An investigation by the broadcasting watchdog into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the documentary was "materially misleading".
The head of the BBC had previously apologised, noting there had been "a serious error in relation to accuracy".
Ofcom has ordered the corporation to broadcast a evening statement about its decisions.
"As this represents a significant violation of our code, we are ordering the broadcaster to broadcast a announcement of our conclusions against it on the BBC's second channel at 9pm, with a schedule to be finalised," it said.
'Potential to Erode Trust'
The regulator's statement said: "The inquiry we conducted found that the documentary's omission to reveal that the narrator's father held a role in the Hamas-controlled government was significantly deceptive.
"It meant that the viewers did not have critical information which may have been very significant to their assessment of the presenter and the details he presented.
"Credibility is at the heart of the relationship between a broadcaster and its viewers, particularly for a public service broadcaster such as the BBC.
"This oversight had the possibility to damage the very considerable levels of trust that audiences would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the conflict in Gaza."
The programme was removed from iPlayer in the month of February after the boy's family links were revealed, and in the month of July an broadcaster's internal assessment determined it infringed the broadcaster's editorial guidelines on accuracy.
A corporation official said: "The Ofcom ruling is in agreement with the findings of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a significant failing in the film in relation to the corporation's content standards on factual correctness, which corresponds to regulation 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We issued an apology for this and we agree with Ofcom's decision in its entirety. We will comply with the penalty as soon as the schedule and language are finalised."
