The BBC engaged in a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the narrator of a programme about the Gaza situation was the child of a Hamas administrator, according to regulatory body Ofcom.
An inquiry by the broadcasting watchdog into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the documentary was "significantly deceptive".
The head of the BBC had previously apologised, noting there had been "a serious error in relation to factual correctness".
Ofcom has instructed the corporation to transmit a peak-time declaration about its decisions.
"As this represents a major infringement of our code, we are ordering the broadcaster to broadcast a announcement of our determinations against it on BBC2 at nine o'clock in the evening, with a timing to be finalised," the statement read.
'Possibility to Undermine Trust'
The regulator's statement stated: "Our investigation determined that the documentary's failure to disclose that the narrator's parent occupied a post in the Hamas-administered administration was substantially inaccurate.
"It meant that the viewers did not have essential details which may have been extremely pertinent to their judgment of the presenter and the content he provided.
"Confidence is at the center of the relationship between a television network and its audience, particularly for a state-funded media outlet such as the BBC.
"This failing had the potential to damage the significantly high degrees of trust that audiences would have invested in a documentary produced by the BBC about the Gaza conflict."
The documentary was withdrawn from the online platform in the month of February after the narrator's familial connections emerged, and in July an broadcaster's internal assessment determined it infringed the organization's editorial guidelines on truthfulness.
A corporation official commented: "The regulator's decision is in line with the findings of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a serious error in the programme in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on factual correctness, which aligns with clause 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We have apologised for this and we comply with Ofcom's decision in full. We will adhere to the sanction as soon as the timing and language are determined."
