BBC Gaza Film Considered a 'Significant' Violation of Media Rules, Says Ofcom
The British broadcaster engaged in a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the narrator of a film about the Gaza conflict was the son of a Hamas official, as ruled by regulatory body Ofcom.
An investigation by the broadcasting watchdog into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the film was "materially misleading".
The head of the BBC had already issued an apology, stating there had been "a serious error in relation to accuracy".
The regulator has ordered the corporation to air a evening statement about its conclusions.
"As this represents a significant violation of our rules, we are directing the broadcaster to air a announcement of our determinations against it on BBC2 at nine o'clock in the evening, with a schedule to be determined," it said.
'Potential to Undermine Credibility'
The authority's statement stated: "The inquiry we conducted found that the documentary's omission to reveal that the voice's male guardian held a position in the Hamas-run government was substantially inaccurate.
"It meant that the viewers did not have essential details which may have been extremely pertinent to their evaluation of the narrator and the information he presented.
"Trust is at the center of the bond between a media organization and its public, notably for a state-funded media outlet such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This error had the possibility to damage the significantly high levels of trust that viewers would have put in a factual film from the broadcaster about the conflict in Gaza."
The film was withdrawn from the BBC's streaming service in the month of February after the narrator's family links were revealed, and in July an internal BBC review determined it violated the organization's editorial guidelines on accuracy.
A corporation official stated: "The Ofcom ruling is in accordance with the findings of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a major oversight in the documentary in relation to the corporation's content standards on truthfulness, which reflects Rule 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We have apologised for this and we accept the authority's determination in full. We will follow the penalty as soon as the schedule and wording are determined."
