British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Film Considered a 'Serious' Breach of Broadcasting Regulations, Declares Broadcasting Watchdog
The British broadcaster engaged in a "major breach" of broadcasting rules by not revealing that the presenter of a film about Gaza was the child of a Hamas official, according to British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An investigation by the media regulator into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the film was "substantially inaccurate".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had previously apologised, stating there had been "a major oversight in relation to accuracy".
Ofcom has instructed the broadcaster to air a peak-time statement about its decisions.
"As this represents a significant violation of our regulations, we are directing the BBC to air a message of our determinations against it on BBC Two at 21:00, with a schedule to be determined," the regulator stated.
'Possibility to Undermine Credibility'
The watchdog's report said: "Our probe concluded that the film's lack of disclosure that the voice's male guardian occupied a role in the Hamas-controlled authority was materially misleading.
"It meant that the viewers did not have vital facts which may have been very significant to their assessment of the voice and the details he shared.
"Trust is at the center of the relationship between a broadcaster and its public, especially for a state-funded media outlet such as the public broadcaster.
"This oversight had the risk to erode the exceptionally strong levels of confidence that the public would have placed in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Gaza conflict."
The documentary was removed from the BBC's streaming service in last February after the presenter's personal associations emerged, and in the month of July an broadcaster's internal assessment determined it violated the broadcaster's content policies on accuracy.
A representative for the broadcaster said: "The authority's determination is in line with the results of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a serious error in the film in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on accuracy, which aligns with clause 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We have apologised for this and we accept the regulator's ruling in full. We will follow the directive as soon as the date and wording are determined."
