BBC Gaza Documentary Ruled a 'Significant' Breach of Media Standards, States UK Media Regulator
The BBC engaged in a "significant breach" of industry standards by not revealing that the presenter of a film about the Gaza conflict was the son of a Hamas official, according to regulatory body Ofcom.
An probe by Ofcom into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the programme was "significantly deceptive".
The head of the BBC had earlier expressed regret, saying there had been "a serious error in relation to accuracy".
The regulator has directed the BBC to broadcast a evening statement about its decisions.
"As this represents a major infringement of our rules, we are ordering the BBC to air a statement of our determinations against it on BBC2 at 9pm, with a timing to be finalised," the regulator stated.
'Possibility to Damage Credibility'
The regulator's report stated: "Our probe found that the programme's failure to disclose that the voice's father held a position in the Hamas-administered government was materially misleading.
"It meant that the viewers did not have critical information which may have been very significant to their judgment of the presenter and the information he shared.
"Trust is at the core of the bond between a media organization and its public, particularly for a public service broadcaster such as the BBC.
"This failing had the potential to damage the significantly high degrees of credibility that the public would have put in a factual film from the broadcaster about the conflict in Gaza."
The film was removed from the online platform in February after the boy's familial connections were revealed, and in July an internal BBC review concluded it infringed the organization's editorial guidelines on accuracy.
A corporation official stated: "The authority's determination is in accordance with the findings of the internal assessment, that there was a significant failing in the documentary in relation to the corporation's content standards on truthfulness, which reflects regulation 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We expressed regret for this and we agree with the authority's determination in complete. We will adhere to the penalty as soon as the timing and wording are determined."
