The British broadcaster engaged in a "significant breach" of media regulations by failing to disclose that the narrator of a documentary about the Gaza situation was the son of a Hamas representative, as ruled by UK media regulator Ofcom.
An inquiry by the media regulator into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has found that the film was "significantly deceptive".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had earlier expressed regret, saying there had been "a significant failing in relation to truthfulness".
The regulator has ordered the broadcaster to broadcast a prime-time statement about its findings.
"As this represents a major infringement of our code, we are ordering the BBC to air a message of our findings against it on BBC Two at nine o'clock in the evening, with a timing to be confirmed," the regulator stated.
'Potential to Erode Credibility'
The watchdog's statement stated: "The inquiry we conducted determined that the programme's failure to disclose that the narrator's parent occupied a post in the Hamas-administered authority was significantly deceptive.
"It meant that the viewers did not have essential details which may have been extremely pertinent to their judgment of the narrator and the details he shared.
"Trust is at the heart of the relationship between a broadcaster and its audience, notably for a national broadcasting corporation such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This failing had the risk to undermine the very considerable degrees of trust that the public would have put in a BBC factual programme about the conflict in Gaza."
The programme was removed from the BBC's streaming service in the month of February after the boy's family links came to light, and in July an broadcaster's internal assessment found it violated the corporation's content policies on truthfulness.
A representative for the broadcaster said: "The regulator's decision is in agreement with the findings of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a significant failing in the programme in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which reflects clause 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We have apologised for this and we agree with Ofcom's decision in its entirety. We will comply with the penalty as soon as the schedule and wording are finalised."
