Over 300 authors, activists boycott New York Times over Gaza coverage

More than 300 writers, scholars, and public figures, including nearly 150 past contributors to The New York Times (NYT), have pledged to stop contributing to the newspaper’s Opinion section until the paper meets three key demands concerning its coverage of Palestine and Gaza.

In a detailed statement, the group criticized the Times for relying heavily on guest essayists to bolster its reputation while continuing what they describe as biased and harmful coverage of the US-'Israeli' war on Gaza. The signatories argue that the Opinion section would be “utterly worthless” without the labor and expertise of outside contributors.

The list of signatories includes high-profile figures such as Rima Hassan, Chelsea Manning, Rashida Tlaib, Gabor Maté, Sally Rooney, Rupi Kaur, Elia Suleiman, Mariam Barghouti, Greta Thunberg, Mohammed El-Kurd, Jia Tolentino, Dave Zirin, and Omar El Akkad. The coalition emphasized that the boycott is growing and invited additional writers and past contributors to join.

“Language makes genocide justifiable. A reason why we are still being bombed after 243 days is because of The New York Times and most Western media,” the late Palestinian journalist Hossam Shabat wrote months before his assassination, the statement recalled. “As Palestinians in Gaza return to their homes and take stock of the destruction Israel has wrought… it is our responsibility in the West to hold complicit institutions to account for these crimes.”

The statement accuses the Times of long-standing institutional bias, alleging that it has “obfuscated, justified, and outright denied” 'Israeli' war crimes while amplifying 'Israeli' government narratives. The group further claims the paper has altered or withheld coverage under pressure from pro-'Israel' lobbying groups and discouraged reporters from using terms like “slaughter,” “ethnic cleansing,” and “occupied territory.”

The boycott specifically targets the Times’ Opinion section, which it describes as a primary tool for maintaining the paper’s prestige and projecting diversity while presenting genocide and occupation as debatable topics. The letter argues that engaging in the section now would be equivalent to “permission to continue this malpractice,” and stresses that withholding contributions is the only effective way to challenge the Times’ influence.

- The Three Demands -

The coalition outlined three demands for the Times:

1. Review and reform editorial practices on Palestine: Conduct a thorough review of anti-Palestinian bias, update the style guide, revise sourcing and citation methods, improve hiring practices, and bar journalists with ties to the 'Israeli' military from reporting on 'Israel’s' wars.
2. Retract “Screams Without Words”: Remove the widely criticized December 2023 article alleging sexual assaults by Hamas fighters during the events of October 7, which has been debunked and discredited. The piece failed to meet basic fact-checking standards, and its lead researcher was fired for endorsing genocidal social media posts.
3. Call for a US arms embargo on 'Israel': Following a ceasefire endorsed by the editorial board in January 2025, the group urges the Times to use its influence to push for a permanent halt to US weapons transfers to 'Israel', arguing that only an arms embargo can ensure a lasting ceasefire.

The statement emphasizes that these demands are reasonable, citing historical precedents when the Times revised its style guide and issued retractions, including after biased coverage of the Iraq War and the AIDS crisis.

“Perhaps most apt is the Times' own accounting of its ‘staggering, staining failure’ to report accurately and urgently on the extermination of European Jews,” the statement reads. “We owe it to the journalists and writers of Palestine to refuse complicity with the Times, and to demand that the paper account for its failures, such that it can never again manufacture consent for mass slaughter, torture, and displacement.”