The BBC engaged in a "significant breach" of media regulations by omitting to mention that the narrator of a film about Gaza was the child of a Hamas representative, according to regulatory body Ofcom.
An probe by Ofcom into the documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the documentary was "materially misleading".
The head of the BBC had earlier expressed regret, noting there had been "a major oversight in relation to factual correctness".
The authority has ordered the corporation to air a evening announcement about its findings.
"Since this amounts to a significant violation of our code, we are ordering the corporation to broadcast a statement of our findings against it on the BBC's second channel at 9pm, with a date to be determined," the regulator stated.
'Possibility to Erode Credibility'
The watchdog's statement declared: "Our investigation found that the programme's failure to disclose that the voice's parent held a position in the Hamas-controlled administration was materially misleading.
"It meant that the audience did not have essential details which may have been highly relevant to their assessment of the presenter and the information he presented.
"Confidence is at the heart of the bond between a media organization and its public, particularly for a state-funded media outlet such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This oversight had the possibility to undermine the exceptionally strong degrees of trust that audiences would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the conflict in Gaza."
The film was withdrawn from iPlayer in last February after the presenter's personal associations emerged, and in this past July an broadcaster's internal assessment found it violated the broadcaster's journalistic standards on truthfulness.
A BBC spokesperson said: "The authority's determination is in line with the conclusions of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a significant failing in the film in relation to the corporation's content standards on accuracy, which reflects clause 2.2 of the regulator's media standards.
"We expressed regret for this and we comply with the regulator's ruling in full. We will adhere to the sanction as soon as the date and wording are determined."
