What do the BBC Editorial Guidelines and Ofcom's Fairness section require for reconstructions, factually based drama and archive material, and where do the two codes differ?

BBC Editorial Guidelines 3.4.30 require reconstructions in factual programmes to avoid misleading over-dramatisation, rest normally on substantial verifiable evidence, be identifiable (labels or cues such as slow motion or grading) with obvious start and end, and generally not be staged for current-event news; 3.4.31 allows fictional characterisation and dialogue in factually based drama while expecting evidence-based portrayal. Ofcom's Section Seven (snapshot 16 Nov 2025) frames factually-based drama as a fairness obligation to individuals and organisations (7.9, 7.10) rather than a labelling rule. Curator qualifications: BBC 3.4.32 archive material and Ofcom 7.6/7.8 (E3, E4 part) not re-read verbatim. Composite-character absence (F3) is a producer negative over these sections. Ofcom text is an archived snapshot; BBC page is live. Page text only (Ofcom memento stored gzip-encoded and decoded for reading). Limitations: UK codes; BBC guidelines bind BBC output. Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidelines/accuracy/guidelines",
      "note": "bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidelines/accuracy/guidelines 3.4.30-3.4.31 (fetched 2026-10-22); IA id_ 20251116224346 of Ofcom Section Seven: Fairness, rules 7.9-7.10"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/2025/https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-standards/section-seven-fairness",
      "note": "bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidelines/accuracy/guidelines 3.4.30-3.4.31 (fetched 2026-10-22); IA id_ 20251116224346 of Ofcom Section Seven: Fairness, rules 7.9-7.10"
    }
  ]
}