BBC Gaza Documentary Considered a 'Major' Violation of Media Regulations, Declares UK Media Regulator

The BBC committed a "serious breach" of industry standards by failing to disclose 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 the broadcasting watchdog into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the film 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 instructed the broadcaster to air a evening announcement about its decisions.

"Since this amounts to a significant violation of our regulations, we are directing the broadcaster to broadcast a statement of our conclusions against it on the BBC's second channel at 9pm, with a schedule to be confirmed," the statement read.

'Potential to Erode Confidence'

The authority's statement stated: "Our investigation determined that the programme's failure to disclose that the narrator's male guardian served in a post in the Hamas-controlled government was substantially inaccurate.

"This implied that the public did not have essential details which may have been very significant to their assessment of the presenter and the information he presented.

"Credibility is at the center of the bond between a television network and its audience, particularly for a public service broadcaster such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.

"This failing had the potential to damage the very considerable levels of trust that the public would have put in a documentary produced by the BBC about the conflict in Gaza."

The documentary was withdrawn from the online platform in last February after the presenter's personal associations were revealed, and in July an internal BBC review determined it infringed the broadcaster's editorial guidelines on truthfulness.

A BBC spokesperson commented: "The authority's determination is in accordance with the conclusions of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a significant failing in the film in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on accuracy, which corresponds to clause 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.

"We expressed regret for this and we accept Ofcom's decision in its entirety. We will adhere to the penalty as soon as the timing and wording are determined."