BBC Doc ‘Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone’ Broke Broadcasting Rules by Being ‘Materially Misleading,’ U.K. Regulator Ofcom Says

Britain’s media regulator Ofcom has found that the BBC documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone” broke broadcasting rules by “materially misleading” audiences, concluding a months-long investigation that began after the controversial program was pulled from BBC iPlayer in February.

The ruling, announced Friday, found what Ofcom described as a “serious breach” of its rules and will require the BBC to broadcast a statement of Ofcom’s findings on BBC Two at 9 p.m. on a date to be confirmed.

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Ofcom’s investigation found that the documentary’s failure to disclose that the 13-year-old narrator’s father held a position in the Hamas-run administration constituted a material breach of rules requiring factual programs to provide audiences with accurate information. The narrator, Abdullah, is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who served as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.

“It meant that the audience did not have critical information which may have been highly relevant to their assessment of the narrator and the information he provided,” Ofcom stated in its findings.

The regulator emphasized the severity of the breach, noting that trust is fundamental to the relationship between broadcasters and their audiences, particularly for public service broadcasters like the BBC. “This failing had the potential to erode the significantly high levels of trust that audiences would have placed in a BBC factual program about the Israel-Gaza war,” Ofcom said.

A BBC spokesperson told Variety: “The Ofcom ruling is in line with the findings of Peter Johnston’s review, that there was a significant failing in the documentary in relation to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines on accuracy, which reflects Rule 2.2 of Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code. We have apologized for this and we accept Ofcom’s decision in full. We will comply with the sanction as soon as the date and wording are finalized.”

The investigation was launched in July after Ofcom examined the BBC’s own internal review, which had concluded the program breached the corporation’s editorial guidelines on accuracy. Ofcom also considered 20 complaints from viewers that had completed the “BBC First” process, the initial step required before the regulator can intervene.

The documentary, produced by independent company Hoyo Films, aired on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer in February before being removed from the streaming platform five days later amid growing questions about the contributors’ backgrounds.

The BBC’s internal review — conducted by Peter Johnston, director of editorial complaints and reviews — found that three members of Hoyo Films knew about the narrator’s father’s position when the program first aired, but no one at the BBC was aware of this information at the time. While the review determined that Hoyo Films did not intentionally mislead the corporation, it concluded the production company bore most of the responsibility for the oversight.

Crucially, the BBC review found no other breaches of editorial guidelines, including on impartiality, and no evidence that outside interests “inappropriately impacted on the program” or that the narrator’s father or family influenced its content.

BBC director-general Tim Davie apologized in July when the internal review findings were published. “Peter Johnston’s report identifies a significant failing in relation to accuracy in this documentary,” Davie said at the time. “I thank him for his thorough work and I am sorry for this failing.”

The broadcaster implemented new editorial safeguards following the review, including enhanced scrutiny of narrators for contested current affairs programs, strengthened editorial controls with “First Gate” and “Final Gate” approval processes, and the creation of a new director role for long-form news content. The BBC confirmed it has no current or future planned commissions with Hoyo Films.

The controversy attracted significant political attention, with U.K. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy questioning why no disciplinary action had been taken against BBC staff. The case also divided public opinion, with over 500 public figures signing an open letter opposing what they characterized as a politicized backlash against the documentary, while other groups criticized the BBC’s Gaza coverage more broadly.

BBC chair Samir Shah and Davie appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in September to answer questions about the documentary and other editorial matters.