BBC Gaza Film Ruled a 'Serious' Infringement of Media Regulations, Declares UK Media Regulator
The British broadcaster engaged in a "major breach" of broadcasting rules by omitting to mention that the narrator of a film about the Gaza situation was the child of a Hamas representative, as determined by regulatory body Ofcom.
An investigation by the broadcasting watchdog into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the film was "significantly deceptive".
The head of the BBC had previously apologised, saying there had been "a serious error in relation to accuracy".
The authority has ordered the BBC to air a evening announcement about its findings.
"Since this amounts to a significant violation of our code, we are directing the BBC to air a announcement of our determinations against it on BBC2 at 9pm, with a timing to be confirmed," it said.
'Possibility to Erode Trust'
The authority's announcement declared: "Our investigation concluded that the documentary's failure to disclose that the narrator's male guardian held a position in the Hamas-administered administration was substantially inaccurate.
"It meant that the public did not have essential details which may have been very significant to their evaluation of the narrator and the content he shared.
"Credibility is at the heart of the connection between a media organization and its public, especially for a state-funded media outlet such as the BBC.
"This error had the possibility to undermine the exceptionally strong levels of trust that the public would have placed in a documentary produced by the BBC about the Gaza conflict."
The documentary was removed from the online platform in last February after the narrator's personal associations were revealed, and in July an internal BBC review determined it violated the broadcaster's journalistic standards on truthfulness.
A corporation official stated: "The Ofcom ruling is in agreement with the findings of the internal assessment, that there was a major oversight in the film in relation to the corporation's content standards on accuracy, which aligns with Rule 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We issued an apology for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in its entirety. We will follow the directive as soon as the date and wording are finalised."
