British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Film Ruled a 'Major' Breach of Media Standards, States Broadcasting Watchdog
The British broadcaster committed a "serious breach" of broadcasting rules by omitting to mention that the narrator of a documentary about Gaza was the son of a Hamas representative, as determined by regulatory body Ofcom.
An inquiry by the broadcasting watchdog into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the programme was "materially misleading".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had previously apologised, stating there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy".
The authority has instructed the broadcaster to transmit a prime-time declaration about its findings.
"As this represents a significant violation of our code, we are directing the BBC to transmit a announcement of our findings against it on BBC2 at 9pm, with a date to be finalised," it said.
'Potential to Erode Credibility'
The authority's announcement stated: "Our probe concluded that the film's failure to disclose that the narrator's parent occupied a role in the Hamas-run authority was substantially inaccurate.
"It meant that the public did not have vital facts which may have been extremely pertinent to their judgment of the presenter and the content he shared.
"Trust is at the core of the relationship between a television network and its audience, especially for a national broadcasting corporation such as the public broadcaster.
"This failing had the potential to erode the significantly high amounts of confidence that the public would have put in a BBC factual programme about the Israel-Gaza war."
The film was withdrawn from iPlayer in the month of February after the presenter's personal associations emerged, and in this past July an corporation's own inquiry determined it violated the broadcaster's editorial guidelines on factual correctness.
A representative for the broadcaster stated: "The authority's determination is in line with the conclusions 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 regulation 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We have apologised for this and we agree with Ofcom's decision in full. We will adhere to the penalty as soon as the date and wording are confirmed."
