BBC Gaza Film Ruled a 'Serious' Infringement of Broadcasting Standards, Declares UK Media Regulator
The BBC engaged in a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the voice of a film about the Gaza conflict was the son of a Hamas official, as ruled by UK media regulator Ofcom.
An inquiry by the media regulator into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the film was "substantially inaccurate".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had previously apologised, noting there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy".
Ofcom has ordered the broadcaster to air a prime-time announcement about its conclusions.
"As this represents a significant violation of our code, we are ordering the corporation to air a announcement of our conclusions against it on BBC Two at 21:00, with a date to be finalised," the regulator stated.
'Possibility to Undermine Trust'
The regulator's announcement stated: "Our investigation determined that the film's lack of disclosure that the voice's father occupied a post in the Hamas-run authority was materially misleading.
"It meant that the viewers did not have critical information which may have been very significant to their evaluation of the presenter and the content he presented.
"Confidence is at the core of the connection between a broadcaster and its public, notably for a national broadcasting corporation such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This failing had the risk to undermine the significantly high levels of credibility that the public would have invested in a BBC factual programme about the Israel-Gaza war."
The programme was removed from the online platform in the month of February after the presenter's familial connections came to light, and in this past July an internal BBC review found it infringed the organization's journalistic standards on accuracy.
A BBC spokesperson said: "The authority's determination is in agreement with the findings of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a major oversight in the film in relation to the corporation's content standards on truthfulness, which corresponds to regulation 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We expressed regret for this and we accept the regulator's ruling in complete. We will follow the penalty as soon as the timing and language are determined."
