BBC Gaza Film Ruled a 'Major' Infringement of Media Rules, Says UK Media Regulator
The BBC was found to have committed a "major breach" of media regulations by failing to disclose that the narrator of a film about the Gaza situation was the offspring of a Hamas administrator, as ruled by British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An investigation by Ofcom into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the programme was "significantly deceptive".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had earlier expressed regret, noting there had been "a serious error in relation to accuracy".
The authority has ordered the BBC to broadcast a evening declaration about its decisions.
"Given this constitutes a major infringement of our code, we are directing the BBC to air a statement of our conclusions against it on BBC2 at nine o'clock in the evening, with a date to be confirmed," the statement read.
'Possibility to Erode Credibility'
The watchdog's announcement stated: "The inquiry we conducted found that the film's omission to reveal that the presenter's male guardian held a position in the Hamas-run authority was materially misleading.
"It meant that the public did not have critical information which may have been very significant to their judgment of the presenter and the details he presented.
"Confidence is at the center of the connection between a media organization and its viewers, particularly for a state-funded media outlet such as the BBC.
"This failing had the risk to undermine the very considerable levels of credibility that the public would have invested in a documentary produced by the BBC about the Gaza conflict."
The programme was withdrawn from the BBC's streaming service in the month of February after the presenter's familial connections were revealed, and in the month of July an corporation's own inquiry determined it infringed the broadcaster's journalistic standards on accuracy.
A representative for the broadcaster said: "The authority's determination is in agreement with the conclusions of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a major oversight in the documentary in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on accuracy, which reflects Rule 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We expressed regret for this and we agree with the authority's determination in its entirety. We will adhere to the directive as soon as the date and language are finalised."
