BBC Gaza Programme Considered a 'Significant' Violation of Media Standards, Says Broadcasting Watchdog
The BBC engaged in a "major breach" of broadcasting rules by omitting to mention that the narrator of a documentary about the Gaza conflict was the offspring of a Hamas representative, according to UK media regulator Ofcom.
An inquiry by the broadcasting watchdog into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the film was "significantly deceptive".
The BBC's director general had already issued an apology, noting there had been "a major oversight in relation to truthfulness".
Ofcom has directed the BBC to broadcast a prime-time announcement about its findings.
"As this represents a significant violation of our regulations, we are directing the corporation to air a message of our findings against it on BBC2 at nine o'clock in the evening, with a timing to be confirmed," it said.
'Potential to Undermine Credibility'
The authority's statement stated: "The inquiry we conducted found that the documentary's lack of disclosure that the presenter's parent held a role in the Hamas-run administration was substantially inaccurate.
"It meant that the viewers did not have critical information which may have been highly relevant to their assessment of the voice and the content he shared.
"Trust is at the center of the relationship between a television network and its public, particularly for a state-funded media outlet such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This failing had the risk to undermine the significantly high amounts of confidence that the public would have invested in a documentary produced by the BBC about the Israel-Gaza war."
The programme was pulled from the BBC's streaming service in February after the presenter's family links came to light, and in July an broadcaster's internal assessment concluded it violated the corporation's editorial guidelines on accuracy.
A corporation official said: "The regulator's decision is in accordance with the conclusions of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a significant failing in the documentary in relation to the corporation's content standards on accuracy, which aligns with Rule 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We issued an apology for this and we agree with the authority's determination in full. We will follow the penalty as soon as the schedule and wording are confirmed."
