Statement 2010.10.11 - Royalty Magazine

Royalty is making this statement in regard to the online hate campaign against the Magazine and its editor Marco Houston, as well as the fraudulent, fake email communications pretending to be from Marco Houston by a malicious person.

Starting from late 2009, Royalty Magazine’s website and email system received a series of hate messages, phishing and spam emails. The magazine’s email addresses were also registered on several pornographic websites and gay community websites (that have not implemented double opt-in registration systems). This malicious person also created a fake Facebook account using our editor Marco Houston’s name to spread defamatory libels against the editor and employees of the Magazine, and more damagingly, this person was trying to use the same fake Facebook account to approach friends and relatives of our employees with criminal intention. This fake Facebook account has been shut down by Facebook.

Royalty believes the same malicious person created a Wikipedia (a free online encyclopaedia that can be edited by any users) page about Royalty Magazine, although the creator used some public information to fake the neutrality of this Wikipedia page, it is very clear that the sole intention of this Wikipedia page is defamation against Royalty Magazine, its founding editor Bob Houston and its current editor Marco Houston. Royalty noted that the IP address of this Wikipedia page’s initial creator is the same as the IP address of the source of those abusive emails Royalty received in March 2010. This malicious person has also stepped up their email hate campaign. We have received reports that nuisance email, phishing email and abusive email were sent to various companies worldwide pretending to be from Marco Houston and using free email accounts such as Hotmail, Gmail etc.

The intention of this hate campaign is, as per the message left on Royalty Magazine’s website, ‘Revenge’. This happens to coincide with false information that appeared on Wikipedia regarding a company called Sabrecrown Ltd.

The Publisher of Royalty Magazine wishes to make clear that Sabrecrown Ltd (registration no. 02722045, Director Nigel Robert Balloch and Director Susan Caroline Page) has never been the publisher of Royalty Magazine. In the early 1990s, Sabrecrown Ltd claimed to have the publishing rights to Royalty Magazine but this was false and Sabrecrown Ltd was ordered to pay legal costs to the Publisher by the High Court of England and Wales and failed to do so. On 26 April 1995 Sabrecrown Ltd was wound up by court order.

As for the false, malicious statements regarding Marco Houston on Wikipedia, Marco Houston will take legal action against anyone who is prepared to associate his/her real name to these statements.

Royalty Magazine supports freedom of speech within the boundary of law and privacy. It remains our policy not to respond to malicious and spam communications. Royalty Magazine condemns, however, the abusive use of websites such as Wikipedia and Facebook for hate campaigns, we believe such activities jeopardise the purpose and damage the credibility of these websites.

We wish to remind our readers and partners to remain vigilant over fraudulent and illegal online activities, as well as the accuracy of anonymous online information.

The attacks on Royalty’s website and email system were reported to the British and Spanish authorities accordingly.

END