🔗 Share this article BBC Gaza Programme Ruled a 'Significant' Infringement of Media Standards, Declares UK Media Regulator The British broadcaster committed a "serious breach" of media regulations by omitting to mention that the presenter of a documentary about the Gaza conflict was the offspring of a Hamas representative, according to UK media regulator Ofcom. An inquiry by the broadcasting watchdog into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the programme was "substantially inaccurate". The chief executive of the broadcaster had earlier expressed regret, noting there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy". The authority has instructed the broadcaster to air a peak-time statement about its findings. "As this represents a major infringement of our rules, we are directing the BBC to air a announcement of our conclusions against it on BBC Two at 21:00, with a timing to be confirmed," it said. 'Potential to Undermine Confidence' The authority's report stated: "Our investigation determined that the film's failure to disclose that the voice's father served in a post in the Hamas-controlled authority was substantially inaccurate. "It meant that the public did not have essential details which may have been very significant to their judgment of the narrator and the content he presented. "Confidence is at the heart of the bond between a media organization and its audience, notably for a public service broadcaster such as the British Broadcasting Corporation. "This oversight had the potential to damage the exceptionally strong levels of confidence that viewers would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the conflict in Gaza." The documentary was pulled from the online platform in February after the presenter's familial connections came to light, and in this past July an corporation's own inquiry concluded it breached the organization's editorial guidelines on accuracy. A corporation official said: "The regulator's decision is in line with the findings of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a significant failing in the documentary in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which reflects clause 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code. "We expressed regret for this and we comply with Ofcom's decision in full. We will follow the sanction as soon as the date and language are finalised."