BBC Gaza Programme Ruled a 'Significant' Violation of Media Rules, Says Ofcom
The British broadcaster was found to have committed a "major breach" of industry standards by failing to disclose that the voice of a programme about the Gaza conflict was the offspring of a Hamas representative, according to UK media regulator Ofcom.
An inquiry by the broadcasting watchdog into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the programme was "significantly deceptive".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had already issued an apology, noting there had been "a major oversight in relation to truthfulness".
The regulator has instructed the broadcaster to broadcast a evening declaration about its findings.
"Given this constitutes a significant violation of our rules, we are instructing the corporation to broadcast a announcement of our findings against it on BBC2 at nine o'clock in the evening, with a schedule to be finalised," the regulator stated.
'Risk to Undermine Trust'
The regulator's announcement declared: "Our probe found that the documentary's lack of disclosure that the presenter's father occupied a role in the Hamas-controlled administration was substantially inaccurate.
"It meant that the viewers did not have critical information which may have been very significant to their judgment of the narrator and the information he provided.
"Credibility is at the center of the bond between a media organization and its public, especially for a public service broadcaster such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This failing had the risk to damage the very considerable amounts of credibility that the public would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the conflict in Gaza."
The documentary was removed from the online platform in February after the presenter's family links came to light, and in the month of July an corporation's own inquiry found it infringed the corporation's editorial guidelines on truthfulness.
A BBC spokesperson said: "The Ofcom ruling is in accordance with the conclusions of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a significant failing in the film in relation to the corporation's content standards on factual correctness, 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 full. We will comply with the penalty as soon as the date and wording are determined."
