The BBC engaged in a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the narrator of a programme about Gaza was the son of a Hamas representative, according to British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An inquiry by the media regulator into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the film was "substantially inaccurate".
The BBC's director general had previously apologised, noting there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy".
The authority has directed the broadcaster to broadcast a peak-time statement about its findings.
"Since this amounts to a major infringement of our rules, we are instructing the corporation to air a announcement of our findings against it on the BBC's second channel at 21:00, with a schedule to be confirmed," it said.
'Risk to Erode Confidence'
The watchdog's announcement said: "Our investigation determined that the film's failure to disclose that the presenter's parent held a post in the Hamas-controlled government was substantially inaccurate.
"This implied that the public did not have essential details which may have been very significant to their evaluation of the voice and the information he shared.
"Trust is at the heart of the bond 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 exceptionally strong degrees of trust that audiences would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Gaza conflict."
The documentary was removed from iPlayer in the month of February after the presenter's familial connections were revealed, and in this past July an corporation's own inquiry found it breached the organization's journalistic standards on factual correctness.
A BBC spokesperson stated: "The authority's determination is in accordance with the results of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a major oversight in the programme in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on factual correctness, which reflects regulation 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We expressed regret for this and we agree with Ofcom's decision in its entirety. We will adhere to the directive as soon as the date and language are finalised."
