BBC Gaza Film Considered a 'Major' Violation of Broadcasting Standards, Declares Broadcasting Watchdog
The public service broadcaster engaged in a "major breach" of media regulations by not revealing that the narrator of a documentary about the Gaza conflict was the offspring of a Hamas representative, as ruled by British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An investigation by the media regulator into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the film was "materially misleading".
The head of the BBC had previously apologised, saying there had been "a major oversight in relation to factual correctness".
The regulator has instructed the BBC to broadcast a peak-time announcement about its findings.
"Since this amounts to a major infringement of our code, we are ordering the broadcaster to air a announcement of our determinations against it on BBC2 at 9pm, with a schedule to be determined," it said.
'Potential to Damage Confidence'
The authority's statement said: "Our probe found that the film's failure to disclose that the voice's father occupied a post in the Hamas-administered administration was substantially inaccurate.
"This implied that the viewers did not have essential details which may have been very significant to their evaluation of the voice and the information he presented.
"Credibility is at the core of the bond between a media organization and its audience, notably for a public service broadcaster such as the BBC.
"This failing had the possibility to undermine the exceptionally strong amounts of trust that viewers would have placed in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Israel-Gaza war."
The documentary was withdrawn from the online platform in the month of February after the boy's personal associations came to light, and in the month of July an broadcaster's internal assessment found it violated the organization's content policies on truthfulness.
A representative for the broadcaster commented: "The regulator's decision is in line with the results of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a significant failing in the film in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on accuracy, which reflects Rule 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We have apologised for this and we agree with Ofcom's decision in full. We will follow the sanction as soon as the schedule and wording are determined."
