British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Programme Considered a 'Serious' Breach of Broadcasting Regulations, Declares UK Media Regulator
The BBC was found to have committed a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the narrator of a programme about Gaza was the offspring of a Hamas representative, as determined by British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An inquiry by the media regulator into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the documentary was "significantly deceptive".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had already issued an apology, saying there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy".
Ofcom has ordered the broadcaster to transmit a peak-time statement about its decisions.
"Since this amounts to a significant violation of our regulations, we are directing the BBC to air a announcement of our findings against it on BBC2 at 9pm, with a timing to be determined," it said.
'Risk to Damage Credibility'
The authority's announcement declared: "Our investigation determined that the programme's lack of disclosure that the narrator's parent held a position in the Hamas-run authority was significantly deceptive.
"It meant that the audience did not have critical information which may have been very significant to their assessment of the narrator and the information he provided.
"Credibility is at the center of the connection between a broadcaster and its viewers, particularly for a national broadcasting corporation such as the BBC.
"This failing had the possibility to erode the exceptionally strong amounts of credibility that viewers would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Gaza conflict."
The film was pulled from the BBC's streaming service in February after the presenter's family links emerged, and in July an internal BBC review concluded it violated the corporation's editorial guidelines on factual correctness.
A BBC spokesperson stated: "The regulator's decision is in accordance with the findings of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a significant failing in the programme in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on truthfulness, which reflects regulation 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We have apologised for this and we comply with the regulator's ruling in its entirety. We will follow the sanction as soon as the schedule and wording are confirmed."
