The BBC was found to have committed a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by omitting to mention that the narrator of a programme about Gaza was the offspring of a Hamas administrator, according to British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An probe by the media regulator into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the documentary was "significantly deceptive".
The head of the BBC had earlier expressed regret, saying there had been "a serious error in relation to accuracy".
The regulator has ordered the BBC to broadcast a evening announcement about its conclusions.
"Given this constitutes a significant violation of our code, we are directing the BBC to broadcast a announcement of our findings against it on BBC2 at 9pm, with a date to be finalised," the regulator stated.
'Potential to Undermine Confidence'
The watchdog's announcement stated: "Our probe determined that the programme's omission to reveal that the voice's male guardian served in a position in the Hamas-administered government was substantially inaccurate.
"Consequently that the audience did not have vital facts which may have been extremely pertinent to their judgment of the presenter and the content he presented.
"Confidence is at the heart of the relationship between a broadcaster and its audience, notably for a state-funded media outlet such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This failing had the risk to damage the exceptionally strong degrees of credibility that viewers would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Gaza conflict."
The documentary was withdrawn from the online platform in February after the boy's familial connections were revealed, and in the month of July an corporation's own inquiry found it violated the corporation's editorial guidelines on accuracy.
A BBC spokesperson stated: "The regulator's decision is in line with the findings of the internal assessment, that there was a significant failing in the documentary in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on truthfulness, which reflects clause 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We expressed regret for this and we comply with the regulator's ruling in its entirety. We will follow the directive as soon as the schedule and wording are confirmed."
