British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Documentary Ruled a 'Major' Violation of Broadcasting Regulations, Declares Broadcasting Watchdog
The public service broadcaster committed a "serious breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the narrator of a documentary about Gaza was the son of a Hamas representative, as ruled by British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An investigation by the broadcasting watchdog into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the film was "materially misleading".
The head of the BBC had previously apologised, stating there had been "a serious error in relation to accuracy".
The regulator has directed the BBC to transmit a evening declaration about its conclusions.
"As this represents a significant violation of our regulations, we are directing the corporation to broadcast a statement of our findings against it on the BBC's second channel at 9pm, with a schedule to be finalised," it said.
'Risk to Erode Confidence'
The watchdog's statement stated: "Our investigation found that the film's omission to reveal that the presenter's father served in a position in the Hamas-administered authority was materially misleading.
"It meant that the viewers did not have essential details which may have been extremely pertinent to their judgment of the narrator and the details he provided.
"Credibility is at the heart of the connection between a media organization and its audience, especially for a public service broadcaster such as the public broadcaster.
"This failing had the possibility to undermine the very considerable levels of trust that the public would have placed in a documentary produced by the BBC about the Gaza conflict."
The film was removed from the BBC's streaming service in last February after the boy's familial connections emerged, and in the month of July an corporation's own inquiry found it infringed the broadcaster's content policies on factual correctness.
A BBC spokesperson said: "The regulator's decision is in line with the findings of the internal assessment, that there was a major oversight in the film in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which aligns with Rule 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We issued an apology for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in its entirety. We will comply with the directive as soon as the schedule and wording are determined."
