BBC Gaza Documentary Ruled a 'Significant' Infringement of Broadcasting Standards, States Ofcom
The British broadcaster engaged in a "serious breach" of broadcasting rules by omitting to mention that the voice of a programme about Gaza was the offspring of a Hamas official, according to regulatory body Ofcom.
An inquiry by Ofcom into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the programme was "significantly deceptive".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had earlier expressed regret, noting there had been "a significant failing in relation to factual correctness".
The authority has directed the broadcaster to air a evening declaration about its findings.
"As this represents a major infringement of our code, we are ordering the corporation to broadcast a statement of our determinations against it on BBC2 at 21:00, with a timing to be finalised," the statement read.
'Potential to Damage Confidence'
The watchdog's announcement said: "Our investigation determined that the film's lack of disclosure that the narrator's parent held a role in the Hamas-administered administration was significantly deceptive.
"It meant that the viewers did not have critical information which may have been very significant to their judgment of the presenter and the details he provided.
"Confidence is at the center of the bond between a television network and its audience, especially for a state-funded media outlet such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This oversight had the potential to damage the exceptionally strong degrees of trust that the public would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Gaza conflict."
The film was pulled from the online platform in the month of February after the presenter's family links came to light, and in the month of July an internal BBC review determined it infringed the organization's editorial guidelines on factual correctness.
A representative for the broadcaster stated: "The Ofcom ruling is in line with the conclusions of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a significant failing in the documentary in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which aligns with Rule 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We issued an apology for this and we accept the regulator's ruling in its entirety. We will comply with the directive as soon as the date and language are confirmed."
