BBC Gaza Programme Deemed a 'Significant' Infringement of Broadcasting Rules, Declares UK Media Regulator

The BBC engaged in a "serious breach" of industry standards by failing to disclose that the presenter of a programme about Gaza was the child of a Hamas representative, according to UK media regulator Ofcom.

An investigation by Ofcom into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the programme was "substantially inaccurate".

The head of the BBC had earlier expressed regret, noting there had been "a serious error in relation to truthfulness".

The authority has directed the BBC to broadcast a prime-time announcement about its findings.

"As this represents a major infringement of our rules, we are instructing the BBC to transmit a message of our findings against it on BBC Two at 21:00, with a timing to be finalised," it said.

'Risk to Damage Confidence'

The watchdog's statement said: "Our investigation determined that the documentary's failure to disclose that the narrator's parent occupied a position in the Hamas-run administration was substantially inaccurate.

"Consequently that the public did not have vital facts which may have been extremely pertinent to their assessment of the narrator and the details he shared.

"Confidence is at the center of the connection between a media organization and its public, particularly for a national broadcasting corporation such as the public broadcaster.

"This failing had the potential to damage the exceptionally strong amounts of confidence that the public would have invested in a documentary produced by the BBC about the Israel-Gaza war."

The documentary was withdrawn from the online platform in February after the presenter's family links came to light, and in the month of July an internal BBC review concluded it breached the organization's editorial guidelines on truthfulness.

A representative for the broadcaster stated: "The authority's determination is in line with the results of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a significant failing in the film in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which corresponds to clause 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.

"We expressed regret for this and we accept the authority's determination in complete. We will comply with the directive as soon as the timing and language are confirmed."