BBC Gaza Film Considered a 'Major' Infringement of Broadcasting Standards, Says Broadcasting Watchdog
The British broadcaster committed a "major breach" of industry standards by not revealing that the presenter of a programme about Gaza was the son of a Hamas administrator, according to regulatory body Ofcom.
An investigation by the media regulator into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the film was "significantly deceptive".
The head of the BBC had already issued an apology, saying there had been "a significant failing in relation to truthfulness".
Ofcom has ordered the broadcaster to air a evening statement about its findings.
"As this represents a significant violation of our rules, we are ordering the broadcaster to transmit a message of our determinations against it on the BBC's second channel at 21:00, with a timing to be finalised," the regulator stated.
'Risk to Damage Trust'
The regulator's report stated: "The inquiry we conducted concluded that the film's omission to reveal that the narrator's parent served in a role in the Hamas-controlled administration was materially misleading.
"It meant that the audience did not have essential details which may have been highly relevant to their assessment of the presenter and the details he presented.
"Confidence is at the center of the bond between a broadcaster and its public, notably for a state-funded media outlet such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This oversight had the possibility to erode the very considerable levels of credibility that viewers would have put in a BBC factual programme about the conflict in Gaza."
The documentary was withdrawn from the BBC's streaming service in last February after the presenter's family links emerged, and in July an broadcaster's internal assessment found it violated the corporation's journalistic standards on truthfulness.
A corporation official stated: "The regulator's decision is in accordance with the conclusions of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a serious error in the documentary in relation to the corporation's content standards on truthfulness, which reflects clause 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We have apologised for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in full. We will adhere to the penalty as soon as the schedule and wording are determined."
