BBC Gaza Programme Ruled a 'Major' Violation of Media Rules, Declares Broadcasting Watchdog

The British broadcaster committed a "major breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the narrator of a film about the Gaza conflict was the offspring of a Hamas representative, according to UK media regulator Ofcom.

An investigation by Ofcom into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the programme was "materially misleading".

The head of the BBC had already issued an apology, noting there had been "a major oversight in relation to factual correctness".

The authority has directed the corporation to transmit a peak-time statement about its decisions.

"As this represents a serious breach of our rules, we are instructing the corporation to air a announcement of our conclusions against it on BBC Two at 21:00, with a date to be finalised," it said.

'Potential to Erode Trust'

The regulator's statement said: "The inquiry we conducted concluded that the documentary's failure to disclose that the presenter's father occupied a post in the Hamas-run authority was significantly deceptive.

"It meant that the public did not have essential details which may have been extremely pertinent to their evaluation of the voice and the content he presented.

"Trust is at the heart of the bond between a media organization and its audience, especially for a state-funded media outlet such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.

"This error had the potential to undermine the very considerable degrees of credibility that the public would have invested in a BBC factual programme about the Gaza conflict."

The film was removed from the online platform in February after the narrator's family links emerged, and in July an corporation's own inquiry determined it violated the organization's editorial guidelines on factual correctness.

A representative for the broadcaster commented: "The Ofcom ruling is in agreement with the conclusions of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a significant failing in the documentary in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on factual correctness, which corresponds to clause 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.

"We issued an apology for this and we comply with the authority's determination in its entirety. We will adhere to the directive as soon as the timing and language are confirmed."