BBC Gaza Programme Considered a 'Significant' Violation of Broadcasting Rules, Says Broadcasting Watchdog
The BBC engaged in a "serious breach" of media regulations by omitting to mention that the voice of a programme about the Gaza conflict was the child of a Hamas official, as ruled by regulatory body Ofcom.
An investigation by the broadcasting watchdog into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the programme was "significantly deceptive".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had previously apologised, noting there had been "a significant failing in relation to truthfulness".
The regulator has directed the broadcaster to transmit a prime-time announcement about its decisions.
"As this represents a serious breach of our code, we are directing the broadcaster to air a statement of our determinations against it on BBC Two at nine o'clock in the evening, with a timing to be determined," it said.
'Potential to Damage Trust'
The regulator's report stated: "Our investigation determined that the film's failure to disclose that the presenter's parent occupied a position in the Hamas-controlled authority was materially misleading.
"Consequently that the viewers did not have essential details which may have been highly relevant to their assessment of the voice and the content he provided.
"Credibility is at the center of the connection between a television network and its audience, particularly for a national broadcasting corporation such as the BBC.
"This failing had the potential to damage the very considerable amounts of confidence that the public would have placed in a BBC factual programme about the Israel-Gaza war."
The documentary was pulled from the online platform in last February after the boy's familial connections were revealed, and in this past July an corporation's own inquiry found it violated the broadcaster's content policies on accuracy.
A representative for the broadcaster stated: "The authority's determination is in accordance with the findings of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a major oversight in the documentary in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which aligns with clause 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We issued an apology for this and we comply with Ofcom's decision in full. We will comply with the penalty as soon as the schedule and language are determined."
