🔗 Share this article BBC Gaza Film Considered a 'Serious' Violation of Broadcasting Rules, Says UK Media Regulator The BBC engaged in a "serious breach" of media regulations by not revealing that the presenter of a film about the Gaza conflict was the child of a Hamas official, as determined by regulatory body Ofcom. An probe by Ofcom into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the programme was "significantly deceptive". The head of the BBC had already issued an apology, noting there had been "a major oversight in relation to accuracy". The regulator has instructed the corporation to broadcast a prime-time announcement about its decisions. "Since this amounts to a major infringement of our regulations, we are instructing the broadcaster to air a announcement of our conclusions against it on BBC Two at 21:00, with a schedule to be confirmed," it said. 'Possibility to Erode Confidence' The authority's statement stated: "Our probe found that the programme's lack of disclosure that the presenter's parent occupied a post in the Hamas-run authority was substantially inaccurate. "It meant that the public did not have vital facts which may have been very significant to their assessment of the presenter and the content he provided. "Credibility is at the heart of the bond between a broadcaster and its viewers, notably for a public service broadcaster such as the BBC. "This oversight had the possibility to erode the exceptionally strong levels of trust that viewers would have invested in a BBC factual programme about the Gaza conflict." The documentary was withdrawn from the online platform in the month of February after the presenter's personal associations were revealed, and in this past July an corporation's own inquiry found it infringed the corporation's journalistic standards on factual correctness. A corporation official commented: "The Ofcom ruling is in line with the conclusions of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a significant failing in the film in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on accuracy, which reflects regulation 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code. "We expressed regret for this and we accept the authority's determination in full. We will adhere to the sanction as soon as the timing and language are finalised."