The British broadcaster engaged in a "major breach" of industry standards by not revealing that the narrator of a film about Gaza was the offspring of a Hamas official, as ruled by British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An investigation by Ofcom into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the documentary was "materially misleading".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had previously apologised, stating there had been "a significant failing in relation to truthfulness".
Ofcom has directed the broadcaster to broadcast a prime-time announcement about its decisions.
"Given this constitutes a significant violation of our code, we are ordering the broadcaster to broadcast a announcement of our determinations against it on BBC Two at 9pm, with a schedule to be determined," the statement read.
'Possibility to Erode Trust'
The regulator's announcement stated: "Our investigation found that the documentary's failure to disclose that the voice's father occupied a role in the Hamas-controlled authority was materially misleading.
"It meant that the audience did not have critical information which may have been extremely pertinent to their evaluation of the voice and the content he presented.
"Credibility is at the heart of the connection between a media organization and its public, notably for a national broadcasting corporation such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This failing had the possibility to undermine the very considerable levels of credibility that the public would have placed in a documentary produced by the BBC about the Gaza conflict."
The film was pulled from iPlayer in February after the narrator's familial connections emerged, and in July an corporation's own inquiry concluded it infringed the organization's editorial guidelines on truthfulness.
A corporation official stated: "The authority's determination is in accordance with the conclusions of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a major oversight in the documentary in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on accuracy, which corresponds to Rule 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We expressed regret for this and we accept Ofcom's decision in full. We will adhere to the sanction as soon as the timing and wording are confirmed."
