The BBC engaged in a "major breach" of industry standards by failing to disclose that the narrator of a film about Gaza was the offspring of a Hamas official, as determined by British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An investigation by the media regulator into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the film was "materially misleading".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had earlier expressed regret, saying there had been "a major oversight in relation to accuracy".
Ofcom has directed the broadcaster to air a peak-time announcement about its conclusions.
"As this represents a significant violation of our regulations, we are directing the corporation to broadcast a message of our findings against it on the BBC's second channel at nine o'clock in the evening, with a timing to be confirmed," the regulator stated.
'Risk to Erode Confidence'
The authority's report declared: "Our probe concluded that the documentary's omission to reveal that the presenter's parent occupied a post in the Hamas-controlled administration was materially misleading.
"It meant that the audience did not have critical information which may have been extremely pertinent to their assessment of the voice and the content he shared.
"Trust is at the core of the bond between a television network and its viewers, notably for a public service broadcaster such as the public broadcaster.
"This failing had the possibility to damage the very considerable amounts of trust that viewers would have invested in a BBC factual programme about the Israel-Gaza war."
The documentary was withdrawn from the online platform in last February after the presenter's personal associations were revealed, and in July an internal BBC review found it infringed the organization's content policies on truthfulness.
A BBC spokesperson commented: "The regulator's decision is in agreement with the conclusions of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a significant failing in the film in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on factual correctness, which aligns with clause 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We have apologised for this and we comply with Ofcom's decision in full. We will adhere to the directive as soon as the date and language are finalised."
