British Broadcasting Corporation Gaza Programme Ruled a 'Significant' Infringement of Media Standards, Declares UK Media Regulator
The public service broadcaster was found to have committed a "major breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the presenter of a programme about Gaza was the son of a Hamas representative, according to regulatory body Ofcom.
An probe by the media regulator into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the film was "materially misleading".
The BBC's director general had already issued an apology, stating there had been "a major oversight in relation to accuracy".
Ofcom has instructed the corporation to transmit a evening statement about its decisions.
"As this represents a major infringement of our regulations, we are instructing the broadcaster to broadcast a statement of our findings against it on BBC Two at nine o'clock in the evening, with a schedule to be confirmed," the regulator stated.
'Potential to Erode Credibility'
The watchdog's announcement stated: "Our investigation found that the programme's failure to disclose that the presenter's male guardian occupied a role in the Hamas-run government was materially misleading.
"This implied that the audience did not have critical information which may have been extremely pertinent to their judgment of the narrator and the information he presented.
"Trust is at the heart of the connection between a television network and its public, notably for a state-funded media outlet such as the public broadcaster.
"This failing had the risk to damage the very considerable degrees of credibility that the public would have put in a factual film from the broadcaster about the conflict in Gaza."
The programme was withdrawn from iPlayer in the month of February after the boy's family links came to light, and in the month of July an corporation's own inquiry determined it infringed the organization's editorial guidelines on accuracy.
A representative for the broadcaster commented: "The authority's determination is in line with the findings of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a major oversight in the programme in relation to the corporation's content standards on truthfulness, which aligns with Rule 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We expressed regret for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in its entirety. We will comply with the directive as soon as the date and wording are confirmed."
