British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Programme Considered a 'Significant' Infringement of Broadcasting Rules, States Broadcasting Watchdog
The public service broadcaster committed a "serious breach" of media regulations by omitting to mention that the presenter of a documentary about the Gaza situation was the offspring of a Hamas representative, according to regulatory body Ofcom.
An investigation by the media regulator into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the film was "significantly deceptive".
The BBC's director general had earlier expressed regret, noting there had been "a major oversight in relation to factual correctness".
The authority has directed the broadcaster to broadcast a evening declaration about its decisions.
"Since this amounts to a serious breach of our code, we are instructing the BBC to broadcast a statement of our determinations against it on the BBC's second channel at 21:00, with a date to be determined," the regulator stated.
'Risk to Damage Trust'
The regulator's report stated: "Our investigation determined that the programme's lack of disclosure that the narrator's father occupied a post in the Hamas-controlled authority was substantially inaccurate.
"It meant that the audience did not have vital facts which may have been highly relevant to their assessment of the presenter and the details he presented.
"Trust is at the heart of the connection between a broadcaster and its viewers, especially for a national broadcasting corporation such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This oversight had the potential to erode the exceptionally strong levels of trust that viewers would have placed in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Israel-Gaza war."
The documentary was removed from the BBC's streaming service in February after the boy's personal associations came to light, and in this past July an internal BBC review found it breached the corporation's content policies on truthfulness.
A BBC spokesperson said: "The authority's determination is in agreement with the results of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a significant failing in the film in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on accuracy, which reflects Rule 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We expressed regret for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in complete. We will comply with the directive as soon as the schedule and wording are finalised."
