đź”— Share this article BBC Gaza Film Considered a 'Major' Infringement of Media Regulations, States UK Media Regulator The public service broadcaster was found to have committed a "major breach" of broadcasting rules by not revealing that the narrator of a film about Gaza was the offspring of a Hamas representative, as ruled by regulatory body Ofcom. An investigation by Ofcom into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the documentary was "materially misleading". The chief executive of the broadcaster had earlier expressed regret, stating there had been "a significant failing in relation to factual correctness". Ofcom has directed the BBC to transmit a peak-time declaration about its conclusions. "Given this constitutes a significant violation of our code, we are instructing the broadcaster to broadcast a statement of our determinations against it on BBC2 at 9pm, with a timing to be confirmed," the regulator stated. 'Potential to Damage Trust' The regulator's announcement said: "The inquiry we conducted found that the film's lack of disclosure that the narrator's parent served in a post in the Hamas-administered authority was materially misleading. "This implied that the viewers did not have vital facts which may have been extremely pertinent to their judgment of the presenter and the content he shared. "Confidence is at the center of the relationship between a media organization and its audience, notably for a state-funded media outlet such as the British Broadcasting Corporation. "This failing had the risk to damage the significantly high degrees of credibility that viewers would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the conflict in Gaza." The programme was removed from the BBC's streaming service in last February after the narrator's familial connections emerged, and in the month of July an broadcaster's internal assessment determined it infringed the corporation's journalistic standards on accuracy. A BBC spokesperson said: "The Ofcom ruling is in agreement with the findings of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a major oversight in the film in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on factual correctness, which reflects regulation 2.2 of the regulator's media standards. "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 finalised."