🔗 Share this article BBC Gaza Documentary Deemed a 'Major' Breach of Media Regulations, Declares UK Media Regulator The BBC engaged in a "major breach" of industry standards by omitting to mention that the presenter of a film about the Gaza conflict was the son of a Hamas representative, as determined by UK media regulator Ofcom. An inquiry by the media regulator into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the programme was "substantially inaccurate". The head of the BBC had earlier expressed regret, noting there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy". The authority has ordered the broadcaster to transmit a prime-time announcement about its conclusions. "Given this constitutes a significant violation of our code, we are directing the broadcaster to air a announcement of our findings against it on the BBC's second channel at 9pm, with a date to be determined," the statement read. 'Possibility to Erode Confidence' The regulator's statement stated: "The inquiry we conducted determined that the film's lack of disclosure that the narrator's male guardian occupied a position in the Hamas-administered authority was materially misleading. "It meant that the public did not have essential details which may have been very significant to their assessment of the narrator and the information he presented. "Credibility is at the core of the relationship between a media organization and its public, notably for a national broadcasting corporation such as the BBC. "This error had the possibility to damage the very considerable levels of credibility that audiences would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Gaza conflict." The documentary was pulled from the online platform in February after the presenter's family links emerged, and in this past July an broadcaster's internal assessment concluded it breached the corporation's editorial guidelines on accuracy. A BBC spokesperson stated: "The regulator's decision is in line with the results of the internal assessment, that there was a serious error in the documentary in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which corresponds to Rule 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations. "We have apologised for this and we comply with the authority's determination in its entirety. We will adhere to the directive as soon as the schedule and wording are determined."