BBC Gaza Programme Deemed a 'Significant' Breach of Media Regulations, Says Ofcom
The BBC was found to have committed a "major breach" of broadcasting rules by omitting to mention that the voice of a programme about the Gaza situation was the offspring of a Hamas representative, according to regulatory body Ofcom.
An investigation by the broadcasting watchdog 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 previously apologised, saying there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy".
The regulator has instructed the BBC to transmit a prime-time announcement about its conclusions.
"As this represents a major infringement of our code, we are instructing the broadcaster to broadcast a message of our determinations against it on BBC2 at 21:00, with a date to be confirmed," it said.
'Potential to Undermine Credibility'
The authority's report declared: "Our investigation determined that the programme's omission to reveal that the presenter's male guardian held a position in the Hamas-run authority was significantly deceptive.
"This implied that the viewers did not have vital facts which may have been extremely pertinent to their judgment of the voice and the information he presented.
"Trust is at the heart of the connection between a television network and its public, especially for a state-funded media outlet such as the BBC.
"This error had the possibility to erode the exceptionally strong degrees of confidence that viewers would have put in a documentary produced by the BBC about the Israel-Gaza war."
The programme was withdrawn from the BBC's streaming service in February after the presenter's familial connections came to light, and in the month of July an corporation's own inquiry determined it violated the broadcaster's journalistic standards on accuracy.
A representative for the broadcaster stated: "The authority's determination is in agreement with the results of the internal assessment, that there was a serious error in the documentary in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on accuracy, which aligns with Rule 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We expressed regret for this and we comply with Ofcom's decision in full. We will follow the directive as soon as the timing and language are determined."
