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Politics24 outlets ran this3 min read

Sally Rooney books withdrawn from UK over Palestine Action support

Author states UK publishing contracts could be criminal offence due to banned group support

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published Updated
Sally Rooney books withdrawn from UK over Palestine Action support

What this story says

  • Sally Rooney's books will cease to be supplied in the UK.
  • Her publisher, Faber, cited UK legislation making it impossible to pay Rooney royalties.
  • Rooney stated that publishing her work in the UK could now be a criminal offence.
  • Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK in July 2025.

Who covered it

Left 59%(10)Centre 29%(5)Right 12%(2)

Percentages are shares of the 17 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 7 of the 24 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

60/100

Craft

65/100

Hype

45/100

24 sources · methodology

Thin on the right so far

Only 2 of the 17 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

Novelist Sally Rooney has stated she can no longer receive royalties from UK sales of her books. Her publisher, Faber, has agreed to stop supplying her works in the United Kingdom. Rooney indicated that fulfilling contracts to publish her work in the UK could now constitute a serious criminal offence. This decision follows the proscription of the group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation in the UK in July 2025.

Disagreement on publisher's reasoning

The Irish Examiner reported that Faber stated current UK legislation meant it could not pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney, describing this as an unconscionable situation. The Irish Times digest stated Faber blames UK antiterrorism legislation for the decision. However, the digests from unn.ua and Far Out Magazine stated Faber Publishing will no longer supply Sally Rooney's books to Britain because of her support for the banned Palestine Action, implying the support itself is the direct cause rather than the legislative consequence.

What the coverage left out

None of the left-rated or centre-rated reports mention the figure of more than 3,700 people believed to have been arrested in the UK for alleged support of Palestine Action since it was banned. The Irish Examiner's full report stated this figure, noting most arrests and charges related to section 13 of the Terrorism Act.

Tags:#SallyRooney#PalestineAction#UKPolitics#Censorship#TerrorismAct

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 14 Oct 2026, 16:00, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

10 rated outlets

  • The left-leaning outlets reported that Sally Rooney is withdrawing her books from sale in the UK. This is because her publisher, Faber, can no longer pass on royalties to her due to UK anti-terrorism legislation. The Irish Examiner, which published a full report, stated Rooney made this decision herself.
  • These reports noted that Rooney had publicly stated her intention to continue supporting Palestine Action. The Irish Examiner stated this support could constitute a criminal offence under the UK's Terrorism Act. It also detailed Rooney's previous cancellation of a UK trip for fear of arrest.
  • The Irish Examiner report mentioned that Rooney's books have achieved significant commercial success in the UK. It also included details about the number of arrests and charges related to support for Palestine Action since the group was banned in July 2025.

Centre

5 rated outlets

  • Centre-rated reports focused on Faber's confirmation that it will stop supplying Sally Rooney's books in the UK. RTÉ stated Faber cannot pay the Irish author royalties because of her pledge to support the banned group Palestine Action. Far Out Magazine's digest also mentioned Rooney's statement about accepting consequences.

Right

2 rated outlets

  • The right-rated digests reported that publisher Faber & Faber would stop stocking Sally Rooney's books. They stated the reason was her support for Palestine Action.
  • These digests noted that Palestine Action was banned by the UK in July 2025 and labelled as a terrorist group. They attributed this information to The Guardian.
  • The digests did not mention the specific sum of money Rooney requested from the publisher to distribute to Palestinian charities.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Sally Rooney books withdrawn from UK over Palestine Action support?
Of the 17 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 59% are rated left, 29% are rated centre, 12% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 24. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Sally Rooney books withdrawn from UK over Palestine Action support left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 17 rated outlets on this story, 59% are rated left, 29% are rated centre, 12% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Sally Rooney books withdrawn from UK over Palestine Action support biased?
Sally Rooney books withdrawn from UK over Palestine Action support is one event reported by 24 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Sally Rooney books withdrawn from UK over Palestine Action support?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Sally Rooney books withdrawn from UK over Palestine Action support?
24 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
Why are Sally Rooney's books being withdrawn from sale in the UK?
Sally Rooney's books are being withdrawn from sale in the UK because of her support for Palestine Action, a group proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK. Her publisher, Faber, stated that UK legislation means it cannot pay Rooney royalties, and Rooney herself said fulfilling publishing contracts could now be a criminal offence.
What is Palestine Action?
Palestine Action is a direct-action protest group that was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK in July 2025. Sally Rooney stated her intention to continue supporting the group, which is not proscribed in the Republic of Ireland.
What are the legal implications for Sally Rooney?
Sally Rooney stated that fulfilling contracts to publish her work in the UK could now constitute a serious criminal offence. She also cancelled a trip to the UK due to fear of arrest, and had previously been advised that any payment to her for TV dramatisations broadcast before the ban could breach terrorism laws if royalties were suspected of funding Palestine Action.

Read it at the source

24 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

10
Show 2 more

Centre

5

Right

2

Not rated

7

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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