
A report has ruled that a BBC Gaza documentary breached editorial guidelines.
The film was pulled from the iPlayer in February after it emerged that the 13-year-old narrator of the piece was the son of a Hamas official.
A review has since found that three members of the independent production company knew of the father's position, however no-one within the BBC knew this at the time.
The report into what happened concluded that the independent production company behind the piece, Hoyo Films, was mostly at fault.nBut it did find that the BBC was not "sufficiently proactive" with initial editorial checks.
BBC director general Tim Davie has promised to take action "to prevent such errors being repeated" in future. Meanwhile, Hoyo Films says it will "improve processes and prevent similar problems in the future".
But what are the BBC rules on censorship and footage?
What are the BBC guidelines on content?
The BBC this week released its guidance for 2025, which is set to come into force on September 1 across all BBC channels and stations.
Because it is funded by taxpayers, the BBC is governed by the Royal Charter which “specifies the BBC's Mission”, namely to “act in the public interest” while “serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain”.
The Royal Charter is also in place to show how the BBC is independent from the government while guaranteeing its “editorial and creative freedom and safeguarding the licence fee”.
There are a number of different sections to the guidance.
Impartiality
The BBC strives to be impartial, to maintain trust with the viewers and prove it does not take sides.
They abide to reflect all relevant sides of the debate while showing all sides to a debate.
The guidance states: “Impartiality is key to a relationship of trust with audiences, that they know the BBC is not being influenced by any personal or other agenda in what it chooses to broadcast or publish or in how it covers stories and that it seeks to include a wide range of views on any given topic.”
Accuracy
The BBC says it is “committed to achieving due accuracy in all its output”.
But this can change depending on what the product is being portrayed as.
For news reports and documentaries, the BBC has to fact check and make sure the content is accurate and correct.
It states: “This commitment is fundamental to the BBC’s reputation and the trust of audiences. The term 'due' means that the accuracy must be adequate and appropriate to the output, taking account of the subject and nature of the content, the likely audience expectation and any additional information provided by the BBC that may influence that expectation.”
Conflicts of Interest
It is a requirement of employment that all BBC staff must formally declare any personal interest which may affect their work. They must also consider whether the position of families and close personal contacts may present a potential conflict of interest.
Harm and Offence
Under guidelines it states that the BBC staff must protect audiences from “offensive and harmful material unless it has sufficient editorial purpose.” Content that is potentially highly offensive will need the strongest editorial justification.
The new guidelines state: “The BBC must balance its right to freedom of expression, which allows it to publish innovative and challenging content, with the responsibility of avoiding unjustifiable offence.”
Privacy
The BBC states that it respects the right of an individual’s privacy and does not infringe it “without good reason, wherever in the world it operates”.
The law protects the privacy of individuals and private information about them, but balances that with a broadcaster's right to freedom of expression.
Children and Young People as contributors
As well as TV shows, the BBC also uses young people for news reports and opinion pieces.
The guidelines state: “Children and young people are important to the BBC. They contribute and interact with it in many different ways – as contributors, performers, presenters, through its interactive and user-generated content, via all of its services and on third-party platforms.
“The BBC should serve children and young people with high-quality, distinctive and duly impartial output and services which inform, educate and entertain. Ensuring the content they consume is appropriate is considered throughout the Editorial Guidelines.”
Involvement on any BBC channels by anyone under 18 must come with consent, and have “editorial justification”.
Politics and Public Policy
As a news service, the BBC will cover a range of political issues.
Because they are funded by taxpayers, they must be impartial and guidelines state that the BBC's political content must “give due weight and prominence to all the main strands of argument and to all relevant political parties”.
This means holding all parties to account, while also giving voice to all - even minority parties.
One of the BBC's public purposes is: “To provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them...so that all audiences can engage fully with major local, regional, national, United Kingdom and global issues and participate in the democratic process, at all levels, as active and informed citizens.”
War, Terror and Extreme Violence, Disaster and Disorder
The BBC believes it has the job of reporting on all events, even those that are not pleasant.
But even when reporting on difficult issues, guidance states “care should be taken” to ensure that BBC journalism does not put individuals at risk of additional harm or cause unnecessary distress.
It also states that “tone and language” matter the reporting on the loss of life or human suffering.
It also states that next of kin should not ever learn of a relative's death or injury from any BBC content.
Religious content
The right to exercise freedom of thought, conscience and religion is set out in human rights legislation. This includes the freedom to worship, teach, practise and observe and this is followed by BBC guidelines.
Programme makers or content writers must abide other guidelines, including accuracy and the Royal Charter to ensure all views are taken and reported on responsibility and correctly.
Competitions and Votes
As part of many BBC shows, such as reality favourites like Strictly Come Dancing, there is audience participation required in the form of competitions and voting at times.
Guidelines state all audience interactivity must be conducted in a manner that is honest and fair with all entrants and contestants always treated fairly and properly, and audiences must never be misled.