BBC Gaza Programme Deemed a 'Major' Violation of Broadcasting Rules, States Broadcasting Watchdog

The BBC engaged in a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the presenter of a programme about the Gaza situation was the offspring of a Hamas administrator, as determined by regulatory body Ofcom.

An investigation by the media regulator into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the documentary was "substantially inaccurate".

The head of the BBC had already issued an apology, stating there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy".

The authority has directed the corporation to air a evening announcement about its findings.

"As this represents a significant violation of our regulations, we are ordering the corporation to air a message of our conclusions against it on the BBC's second channel at 21:00, with a timing to be confirmed," the regulator stated.

'Potential to Erode Confidence'

The authority's report stated: "Our investigation concluded that the film's lack of disclosure that the narrator's father occupied a post in the Hamas-run authority was substantially inaccurate.

"It meant that the public did not have essential details which may have been extremely pertinent to their evaluation of the voice and the information he shared.

"Trust is at the core of the bond between a television network and its public, notably for a public service broadcaster such as the BBC.

"This failing had the risk to damage the exceptionally strong degrees of confidence that the public would have placed in a BBC factual programme about the conflict in Gaza."

The film was pulled from the BBC's streaming service in the month of February after the boy's family links came to light, and in this past July an corporation's own inquiry found it breached the corporation's journalistic standards on truthfulness.

A BBC spokesperson said: "The Ofcom ruling is in accordance with the conclusions of the internal assessment, that there was a significant failing in the film in relation to the corporation's content standards on truthfulness, which aligns with Rule 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.

"We have apologised for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in full. We will follow the directive as soon as the schedule and wording are determined."