British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Documentary Considered a 'Major' Violation of Media Rules, States Ofcom
The British broadcaster engaged in a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by not revealing that the narrator of a programme about Gaza was the child of a Hamas representative, according to UK media regulator Ofcom.
An inquiry by Ofcom into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the documentary was "materially misleading".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had previously apologised, saying there had been "a significant failing in relation to factual correctness".
Ofcom has ordered the broadcaster to transmit a evening announcement about its conclusions.
"As this represents a significant violation of our regulations, we are instructing the corporation to broadcast a statement of our findings against it on BBC Two at 9pm, with a date to be confirmed," it said.
'Possibility to Erode Confidence'
The regulator's report declared: "Our investigation concluded that the programme's omission to reveal that the presenter's father occupied a post in the Hamas-controlled government was materially misleading.
"It meant that the viewers did not have critical information which may have been extremely pertinent to their judgment of the voice and the details he provided.
"Credibility is at the core of the connection between a television network and its viewers, notably for a state-funded media outlet such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This oversight had the potential to undermine the significantly high levels of credibility that viewers would have placed in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Gaza conflict."
The programme was pulled from the BBC's streaming service in the month of February after the narrator's personal associations were revealed, and in the month of July an broadcaster's internal assessment concluded it breached the broadcaster's content policies on truthfulness.
A representative for the broadcaster stated: "The Ofcom ruling is in agreement with the results of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a major oversight in the documentary in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on factual correctness, which reflects regulation 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We expressed regret for this and we agree with the authority's determination in its entirety. We will adhere to the penalty as soon as the schedule and language are finalised."
