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20h ago

BBC Admits Accuracy Breach in Gaza Documentary, Faces Ofcom Investigation

An internal review identified a major accuracy lapse that prompted the BBC’s director-general to pledge fresh accountability measures, with the regulator launching its own investigation

FILE - This photo shows a BBC sign outside the entrance to the headquarters of the publicly funded media organization in London, July 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
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Overview

  • An independent review by Peter Johnston found the BBC breached its accuracy guidelines by not disclosing that the documentary’s 13-year-old narrator is the son of a senior Hamas official.
  • The film was removed from BBC iPlayer five days after its February broadcast and Director-General Tim Davie issued a formal apology, describing the lapse as a ‘significant failing.’
  • The review found no other breaches of editorial guidelines, including impartiality, and saw no evidence of inappropriate influence on the programme’s content.
  • Independent producer Hoyo Films also apologized for the oversight, pledged to improve its editorial processes and said it hopes to restore the documentary to iPlayer.
  • Ofcom has opened a probe under rules barring factual programmes from materially misleading audiences to determine whether viewers were misled.