British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Film Ruled a 'Major' Violation of Media Standards, States Broadcasting Watchdog
The BBC was found to have committed a "major breach" of broadcasting rules by not revealing that the presenter of a film about the Gaza situation was the son of a Hamas official, as determined by regulatory body Ofcom.
An investigation by the media regulator into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the film was "materially misleading".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had earlier expressed regret, saying there had been "a significant failing in relation to truthfulness".
The authority has directed the corporation to broadcast a evening declaration about its findings.
"Given this constitutes a significant violation of our code, we are instructing the BBC to broadcast a announcement of our conclusions against it on the BBC's second channel at 21:00, with a schedule to be determined," the regulator stated.
'Potential to Erode Trust'
The regulator's statement declared: "Our investigation concluded that the programme's omission to reveal that the presenter's parent held a position in the Hamas-run government was materially misleading.
"It meant that the audience did not have vital facts which may have been extremely pertinent to their assessment of the narrator and the content he shared.
"Trust is at the heart of the connection between a media organization and its viewers, particularly for a national broadcasting corporation such as the public broadcaster.
"This oversight had the possibility to undermine the exceptionally strong levels of credibility that viewers would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the conflict in Gaza."
The documentary was withdrawn from the BBC's streaming service in last February after the narrator's familial connections came to light, and in the month of July an broadcaster's internal assessment determined it breached the corporation's content policies on truthfulness.
A corporation official said: "The Ofcom ruling is in line with the results of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a major oversight in the programme in relation to the corporation's content standards on accuracy, which aligns with clause 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We issued an apology for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in complete. We will comply with the sanction as soon as the timing and language are confirmed."
