BBC Gaza Documentary Deemed a 'Serious' Breach of Media Standards, Says Ofcom
The British broadcaster engaged in a "major breach" of media regulations by failing to disclose that the presenter of a film about the Gaza situation was the son of a Hamas representative, as determined by regulatory body Ofcom.
An probe by the media regulator into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the documentary was "significantly deceptive".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had previously apologised, stating there had been "a major oversight in relation to factual correctness".
Ofcom has directed the BBC to broadcast a peak-time statement about its conclusions.
"As this represents a major infringement of our code, we are directing the broadcaster to broadcast a statement of our conclusions against it on BBC Two at 21:00, with a schedule to be finalised," the regulator stated.
'Possibility to Erode Credibility'
The regulator's report said: "The inquiry we conducted found that the film's lack of disclosure that the narrator's male guardian occupied a position in the Hamas-run government was materially misleading.
"Consequently that the viewers did not have vital facts which may have been very significant to their assessment of the narrator and the details he presented.
"Confidence is at the heart of the relationship between a television network and its public, notably for a national broadcasting corporation such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This error had the possibility to undermine the significantly high amounts of credibility that the public would have invested in a BBC factual programme about the Gaza conflict."
The film was removed from the BBC's streaming service in last February after the boy's family links emerged, and in July an internal BBC review concluded it violated the corporation's editorial guidelines on accuracy.
A representative for the broadcaster stated: "The regulator's decision is in agreement with the conclusions of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a serious error in the documentary in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which reflects Rule 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We have apologised for this and we agree with the authority's determination in its entirety. We will adhere to the penalty as soon as the timing and wording are finalised."
