BBC Gaza Film Ruled a 'Significant' Violation of Media Rules, Declares UK Media Regulator
The public service broadcaster engaged in a "serious breach" of industry standards by failing to disclose that the narrator of a film about the Gaza conflict was the offspring of a Hamas administrator, as ruled by regulatory body Ofcom.
An probe by Ofcom into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the film was "substantially inaccurate".
The head of the BBC had earlier expressed regret, saying there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy".
Ofcom has directed the corporation to broadcast a evening declaration about its decisions.
"Since this amounts to a significant violation of our regulations, we are instructing the corporation to transmit a announcement of our findings against it on BBC2 at 9pm, with a timing to be confirmed," the statement read.
'Potential to Erode Credibility'
The regulator's announcement stated: "Our probe found that the documentary's omission to reveal that the narrator's male guardian served in a position in the Hamas-controlled government was significantly deceptive.
"It meant that the viewers did not have critical information which may have been extremely pertinent to their assessment of the voice and the content he shared.
"Trust is at the heart of the bond between a television network and its public, notably for a state-funded media outlet such as the public broadcaster.
"This error had the possibility to undermine the exceptionally strong levels of trust that the public would have placed in a documentary produced by the BBC about the conflict in Gaza."
The film was removed from the online platform in February after the presenter's familial connections came to light, and in July an internal BBC review found it breached the organization's journalistic standards on factual correctness.
A corporation official stated: "The regulator's decision is in line with the findings of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a serious error in the film in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which reflects Rule 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We have apologised for this and we comply with the authority's determination in its entirety. We will comply with the sanction as soon as the schedule and language are confirmed."
