Monday, January 30, 2023

Letter from RP Books & Media Publisher, Jeannie Kim Addressing the Malicious Targeting of Robert Stanek

Dear Readers, We are aware of the false information and fake negative reviews that have been circulating about Mr. Stanek and his books, especially on Amazon.com and Goodreads.com. We want to assure our customers and the general public that we've identified the sources of this misinformation and malicious targeting, and have taken appropriate steps to correct and prosecute as permitted by law, both within the U.S. and the U.K.

It's easy for large competitors to crush something small and use their platforms to cause incredible, lasting harm. Not only can larger competitors spread lies about a smaller competitor faster than the smaller competitor can keep up with, it's nearly impossible for a smaller competitor to get out from under the targeting without help and in this respect, we need you, dear readers. Your support and continued readership is essential.

As for Amazon.com and Goodreads.com involvement, the U.S. Department of Justice has identified Amazon staff accepting bribes, writing fake negative reviews and targeting products like Robert's for take downs in its indictments of September 2020.

Specifically, the US DOJ prosecuted four cases involving Amazon employees:

* Targeting people like Robert with fake negative reviews

* Using their inside access to Amazon's network to suspend accounts and product listings

* Using their inside access to Amazon's network to remove favorable reviews and commentary

* Posting spurious comments to intimidate victims and drive away customers

All four cases were successful and proved by the Department of Justice in 2022. The following contains complete details, links and the press release from the US Attorney’s Office Western District of Washington state, dated Sept 18, 2020:
https://robertstanek.blogspot.com/2020/09/doj-ids-corrupt-amazon-employees.html.

Mr. Stanek has been a professionally published, bestselling author since 1995 when his first book was published by Macmillan and his books have since been published and or distributed by nearly every major publisher in the United States. He does, of course, write as William Stanek and Robert Stanek. His books have been praised and featured in Publisher's Weekly, including a cover story on popular fantasy series, Library Journal, Children's Bookshelf, Foreword Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Parenting Magazine, The Journal of Electronic Defense, Voice of Youth Advocates Magazine for YA Librarians, Popular Children's Fiction Selections for Librarians, and more.

We have been in business since 1994, nearly 30 years, and have always strived to provide excellent products and services to our customers. We value their satisfaction and take any complaints or issues very seriously. We apologize for any confusion or concern that this may have caused and appreciate the support of our loyal customers.

We hope that you had a great experience with our products. If you are satisfied with your purchase, we would appreciate it if you could leave a positive review on your favorite book or library review site. Your feedback helps us to improve and grow our business, and it also helps other potential customers to learn about the excellent products that we provide. Thank you for your support.

 

Jeannie Kim
Sr. Publisher, RP Books & Media