BBC Gaza Documentary Considered a 'Serious' Violation of Media Standards, Says Broadcasting Watchdog
The BBC engaged in a "significant breach" of industry standards by not revealing that the voice of a documentary about the Gaza conflict was the offspring of a Hamas administrator, according to regulatory body Ofcom.
An probe by Ofcom into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the film was "materially misleading".
The BBC's director general had earlier expressed regret, stating there had been "a significant failing in relation to truthfulness".
The authority has directed the BBC to air a peak-time declaration about its decisions.
"Given this constitutes a serious breach of our code, we are ordering the broadcaster to broadcast a statement of our findings against it on the BBC's second channel at 9pm, with a timing to be confirmed," it said.
'Potential to Damage Credibility'
The watchdog's statement declared: "Our investigation determined that the film's failure to disclose that the voice's parent occupied a position in the Hamas-controlled authority was materially misleading.
"It meant that the public did not have essential details which may have been highly relevant to their judgment of the presenter and the details he provided.
"Trust is at the heart of the bond between a media organization and its public, notably for a public service broadcaster such as the public broadcaster.
"This oversight had the possibility to erode the very considerable levels of credibility that the public would have put in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Gaza conflict."
The film was pulled from the online platform in the month of February after the narrator's family links came to light, and in July an internal BBC review concluded it breached the organization's journalistic standards on truthfulness.
A representative for the broadcaster said: "The authority's determination is in line with the findings of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a major oversight in the documentary in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on truthfulness, which aligns with Rule 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We have apologised for this and we comply with the regulator's ruling in its entirety. We will adhere to the sanction as soon as the timing and language are confirmed."
