BBC Gaza Documentary Ruled a 'Significant' Breach of Broadcasting Standards, Declares Ofcom
The public service broadcaster was found to have committed a "significant breach" of media regulations by omitting to mention that the narrator of a programme about the Gaza situation was the offspring of a Hamas representative, as ruled by UK media regulator Ofcom.
An investigation by the broadcasting watchdog into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the film was "significantly deceptive".
The BBC's director general had already issued an apology, stating there had been "a significant failing in relation to factual correctness".
The regulator has directed the corporation to transmit a evening statement about its decisions.
"As this represents a significant violation of our code, we are ordering the BBC to broadcast a statement of our findings against it on the BBC's second channel at 9pm, with a date to be finalised," the regulator stated.
'Potential to Erode Credibility'
The watchdog's report stated: "Our probe determined that the programme's omission to reveal that the narrator's male guardian occupied a post in the Hamas-run government was materially misleading.
"It meant that the public did not have critical information which may have been highly relevant to their judgment of the presenter and the details he shared.
"Trust is at the core of the bond between a television network and its viewers, particularly for a public service broadcaster such as the BBC.
"This oversight had the possibility to erode the exceptionally strong degrees of credibility that viewers would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Gaza conflict."
The film was withdrawn from the BBC's streaming service in last February after the boy's familial connections came to light, and in this past July an internal BBC review found it violated the organization's editorial guidelines on truthfulness.
A corporation official said: "The regulator's decision is in line with the results of the internal assessment, that there was a significant failing in the documentary in relation to the corporation's content standards on factual correctness, which reflects clause 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We issued an apology for this and we accept the authority's determination in full. We will adhere to the directive as soon as the timing and wording are determined."
