Ofcom has ruled that the BBC breached its journalistic code for not disclosing that the narrator in its ‘Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone’ documentary was the son of a Hamas official. The British communications watchdog criticized the broadcaster for the program’s failure to reveal the narrator’s father’s position in the Hamas-run administration, calling it ‘materially misleading.’ This could have significantly eroded audience trust in the BBC’s reporting, Ofcom stated in a statement on Friday.
The documentary, which was launched in February, was partially narrated by the 13-year-old son of the Hamas deputy agriculture minister, according to the state broadcaster. The Palestinian militant group is designated as a terrorist organization in the UK, US, and EU. The regulator asserted that the program’s lack of transparency about the narrator’s family ties could have misled the public, thereby undermining the BBC’s credibility.
The watchdog has directed the BBC to publish a statement on the findings of the investigation during evening primetime, with an exact date to be determined later. The BBC apologized for the incident on Friday, accepting the regulator’s decision. The broadcaster has been under intense scrutiny over its coverage of the Gaza war, having recently faced backlash for airing an anti-Israeli musical performance from the Glastonbury Festival.
Last year, more than 100 staff members complained to Director General Tim Davie about insufficiently covering the Palestinian side of the conflict. Ofcom sanctioned RT and revoked its broadcasting license over its coverage of the Ukraine conflict, soon after the escalation in 2022. RT and other Russian media outlets have faced sanctions and outright bans in many Western European nations since.
Despite this, they have expanded their reach, while Western networks have scaled back their activities amid budget cuts and shifting foreign policy concerns, the BBC reported in August.