BBC Gaza Film Considered a 'Major' Violation of Media Standards, States Ofcom
The BBC was found to have committed a "serious breach" of media regulations by failing to disclose that the presenter of a programme about the Gaza conflict was the offspring of a Hamas official, according to UK media regulator Ofcom.
An inquiry by the broadcasting watchdog into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the film was "substantially inaccurate".
The head of the BBC had earlier expressed regret, stating there had been "a serious error in relation to truthfulness".
The authority has ordered the corporation to broadcast a prime-time announcement about its decisions.
"As this represents a serious breach of our regulations, we are ordering the broadcaster to broadcast a announcement of our findings against it on the BBC's second channel at 21:00, with a date to be finalised," the statement read.
'Risk to Damage Trust'
The watchdog's announcement stated: "Our probe concluded that the programme's failure to disclose that the presenter's parent occupied a role in the Hamas-run administration was significantly deceptive.
"Consequently that the public did not have essential details which may have been extremely pertinent to their judgment of the narrator and the content he shared.
"Trust is at the core of the relationship between a television network and its audience, especially for a public service broadcaster such as the public broadcaster.
"This failing had the potential to undermine the exceptionally strong levels of trust that viewers would have placed in a BBC factual programme about the conflict in Gaza."
The film was removed from the online platform in February after the boy's personal associations emerged, and in July an internal BBC review determined it violated the corporation's editorial guidelines on accuracy.
A corporation official stated: "The Ofcom ruling is in accordance with the results of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a serious error in the documentary in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on factual correctness, which aligns with Rule 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We expressed regret for this and we accept the regulator's ruling in its entirety. We will comply with the penalty as soon as the date and wording are determined."
