BBC Gaza Programme Deemed a 'Major' Violation of Media Rules, Declares Broadcasting Watchdog
The British broadcaster engaged in a "serious breach" of broadcasting rules by omitting to mention that the presenter of a programme about Gaza was the offspring of a Hamas representative, according to UK media regulator Ofcom.
An inquiry by Ofcom into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the programme was "substantially inaccurate".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had earlier expressed regret, noting there had been "a serious error in relation to factual correctness".
Ofcom has instructed the BBC to broadcast a peak-time statement about its decisions.
"Since this amounts to a significant violation of our code, we are ordering the corporation to broadcast a message of our conclusions against it on BBC2 at 9pm, with a date to be finalised," it said.
'Possibility to Erode Credibility'
The authority's announcement stated: "Our investigation concluded that the film's failure to disclose that the narrator's parent served in a role in the Hamas-administered government was substantially inaccurate.
"It meant that the public did not have essential details which may have been very significant to their assessment of the narrator and the details he provided.
"Credibility is at the core of the bond between a television network and its public, notably for a national broadcasting corporation such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This oversight had the risk to undermine the exceptionally strong levels of credibility that viewers would have put in a BBC factual programme about the Israel-Gaza war."
The programme was withdrawn from iPlayer in the month of February after the presenter's family links came to light, and in July an broadcaster's internal assessment determined it violated the organization's content policies on accuracy.
A BBC spokesperson commented: "The regulator's decision is in line with the findings of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a major oversight in the film in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which aligns with clause 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We have apologised for this and we accept the authority's determination in full. We will comply with the penalty as soon as the schedule and wording are confirmed."