The Origin of London Riot Rumours
August 11, 2011 2:22 AM Subscribe
I am curious about the origins of a few of the London riot rumours. How did the highly unlikely rumour that the Blackberry Messenger was the communication channel of choice for rioters/looters get started? Also how did the false story that Duggan had shot at the police get started?
Blackberry Messenger is correct - really popular with kids these days (cheaper than SMS).
posted by laukf at 2:32 AM on August 11, 2011
posted by laukf at 2:32 AM on August 11, 2011
I cannot comment on how the rumours started, but I don't thing that Blackberry Messenger being used is "highly unlikely"
I've got a 14 year old brother, and BBM is absolutely huge amongst his age group where he lives (Essex, UK), you're a social outcast if you haven't got it.
He uses it to arrange trips to the cinema or the park to play football, so it's an easy step from there to it being used for more malicious purposes.
posted by chrispy108 at 2:33 AM on August 11, 2011
I've got a 14 year old brother, and BBM is absolutely huge amongst his age group where he lives (Essex, UK), you're a social outcast if you haven't got it.
He uses it to arrange trips to the cinema or the park to play football, so it's an easy step from there to it being used for more malicious purposes.
posted by chrispy108 at 2:33 AM on August 11, 2011
Response by poster: Interesting. I really had no clue about the popularity of Blackberry among British teens.
posted by srboisvert at 2:41 AM on August 11, 2011
posted by srboisvert at 2:41 AM on August 11, 2011
Twitter was awash with information, some accurate and some... not. The Guardian published this guide to using Twitter responsibly in response to this.
posted by Ziggy500 at 2:42 AM on August 11, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Ziggy500 at 2:42 AM on August 11, 2011 [2 favorites]
Surprisingly, Blackberry Messenger is the communication channel of choice for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK. Coincidentally I was talking with a very experienced Youth Worker who works in my organisation a week before the riots, who told me that the vast majority of the young people with whom she works prize the latest Blackberry. iPhones are viewed as effete and middle class. Blackberry messages are free (given a data package), and thus much more economical than SMS messaging, if send a lot of text messages. (on preview: looking at the other replies, it seems not just disadvantaged youths)
This isn't quite the same thing as demonstrating that it was fundamental to organising the riots, but there are plenty of examples of it being used this online and in the press (on preview: the link in the first reply gives some examples)
The "Duggan shot first" story came from the IPCC, who are presumed to have got it from the Police. In cases of alleged police misconduct there is a history of stories which are attributed to official and unofficial police sources, and paint the police in a favourable light, subsequently turning out to be untrue. This article gives a good summary.
posted by Touchstone at 2:47 AM on August 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
This isn't quite the same thing as demonstrating that it was fundamental to organising the riots, but there are plenty of examples of it being used this online and in the press (on preview: the link in the first reply gives some examples)
The "Duggan shot first" story came from the IPCC, who are presumed to have got it from the Police. In cases of alleged police misconduct there is a history of stories which are attributed to official and unofficial police sources, and paint the police in a favourable light, subsequently turning out to be untrue. This article gives a good summary.
posted by Touchstone at 2:47 AM on August 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also how did the false story that Duggan had shot at the police get started?
It came from the IPCC - presumably via the officers involved because they would have nothing else to go on at the time. They later revised that statement to say the officers fired because they believe there was a threat to human life which gives them far more wiggle room. They may not have even finished interviewing the officers when they made that statement.
It is however worth pointing out something the newspapers like to downplay - absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. The forensic tests done so far cannot prove nor disprove that the gun was fired (more tests are being done). What we know is that they were not able to prove the gun was fired, the bullet found in the officer's radio was a police round (and in fact the one that killed Mark Duggan) and the Met have a history of lying about similar incidents. Its likely we'll never know for sure exactly what happened, this aint CSI ;)
posted by missmagenta at 3:03 AM on August 11, 2011
It came from the IPCC - presumably via the officers involved because they would have nothing else to go on at the time. They later revised that statement to say the officers fired because they believe there was a threat to human life which gives them far more wiggle room. They may not have even finished interviewing the officers when they made that statement.
It is however worth pointing out something the newspapers like to downplay - absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. The forensic tests done so far cannot prove nor disprove that the gun was fired (more tests are being done). What we know is that they were not able to prove the gun was fired, the bullet found in the officer's radio was a police round (and in fact the one that killed Mark Duggan) and the Met have a history of lying about similar incidents. Its likely we'll never know for sure exactly what happened, this aint CSI ;)
posted by missmagenta at 3:03 AM on August 11, 2011
A lot of the Twitter rumours about rioting in specific locations (Wimbledon, Fulham Broadway, Parts of Hackney that were actually untouched, etc.) seem to have come from police and employers being very cautious on Monday and Tuesday. When businesses closed and sent employees home, this often ended up on Twitter as a particular neighborhood being "Evacuated! because rioters are coming!"
posted by Wylla at 3:05 AM on August 11, 2011
posted by Wylla at 3:05 AM on August 11, 2011
I think it probably helps if you envisage yourself as a somebody who loves riots. You are probably in a gang. You know what you are doing is illegal so you will be on a lookout for a way of staying in touch which is cheap and secure from the prying eyes of the fuzz and your mum: Blackberry devices fit the bill. The company that makes them is desperately trying to expand away from wankers in boardrooms and - well there you are with these needs. It's a bit like the Burberry cap your big brother used to wear.
You know that if there is a large, angry crowd somewhere then you can do the vandalism, fighting and looting under relative cover. But there is no point in turning up somewhere with just a few mates - you have to wait for (or create) a trigger event.
Rioters probably don't study about the theory of Schelling incidents - but the psychologists who study them do:
This was a theory cooked up in the 60s. At that time you would have to run round to your neighbours and knock on their door to tell them there was some action going down. Not now. With a single message you can let all the gang that there is something up on the high street - get down there fast with some petrol and sledge hammers. While you are waiting for them to turn up you can post some messages to Twitter telling the world in general that outrageous things are happening. Again this will be particularly targeted by your followers who live in your neighbourhood.
Actually if you have enough ner-do-wells on your contacts list you can start a riot with just them. Pick whatever you figure people would like to help themselves to and then set up a rendevous for bit group of you outside the shop that sells it.
posted by rongorongo at 3:59 AM on August 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
You know that if there is a large, angry crowd somewhere then you can do the vandalism, fighting and looting under relative cover. But there is no point in turning up somewhere with just a few mates - you have to wait for (or create) a trigger event.
Rioters probably don't study about the theory of Schelling incidents - but the psychologists who study them do:
As word spreads of a conventional triggering event--whether it is shocking (like an assassination) or rhapsodic (a three-peat)--crowds form spontaneously in various places, without any one person having to recruit them. Each member of the crowd will know more about the intentions of fellow crowd members than people usually know about the intentions of strangers, because once a starting signal has been given, people know that a riot is impending. They gather into crowds because they want to participate and they know why the other people in the crowd, or at least a great many of them, have come.
This was a theory cooked up in the 60s. At that time you would have to run round to your neighbours and knock on their door to tell them there was some action going down. Not now. With a single message you can let all the gang that there is something up on the high street - get down there fast with some petrol and sledge hammers. While you are waiting for them to turn up you can post some messages to Twitter telling the world in general that outrageous things are happening. Again this will be particularly targeted by your followers who live in your neighbourhood.
Actually if you have enough ner-do-wells on your contacts list you can start a riot with just them. Pick whatever you figure people would like to help themselves to and then set up a rendevous for bit group of you outside the shop that sells it.
posted by rongorongo at 3:59 AM on August 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
For your second question, the Guardian reported the officer who shot didn't claim that Duggan shot first - merely that he was going for a weapon. The "Duggan shot first" appears to be an invention of the police PR folks.
posted by rodgerd at 4:33 AM on August 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by rodgerd at 4:33 AM on August 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
If it helps, here's the first Guardian report of the shooting of Duggan:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/aug/04/ipcc-investigation-tottenham-london-shooting
I think the IPCC worded the initial statement in such a way that it invited the press coverage to interpret "shots fired" as "exchange of fire". Plus confusing reports from the eye witnesses.
The problem the Met Police have with the initial reporting, however, is that they have consistently released false information in the immediate aftermath of these high profile incidents - see De Menezes, for example - described as looking and behaving suspicious, vaulting barriers to escape police etc - found to be false, and Ian Tomlinson, where the initial report was that the officer acted in self defence. The "community" in London (whatever that means) don't trust the Met Police's version of events.
posted by khites at 4:46 AM on August 11, 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/aug/04/ipcc-investigation-tottenham-london-shooting
I think the IPCC worded the initial statement in such a way that it invited the press coverage to interpret "shots fired" as "exchange of fire". Plus confusing reports from the eye witnesses.
The problem the Met Police have with the initial reporting, however, is that they have consistently released false information in the immediate aftermath of these high profile incidents - see De Menezes, for example - described as looking and behaving suspicious, vaulting barriers to escape police etc - found to be false, and Ian Tomlinson, where the initial report was that the officer acted in self defence. The "community" in London (whatever that means) don't trust the Met Police's version of events.
posted by khites at 4:46 AM on August 11, 2011
From the Financial Times:
But BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has a secret weapon – one that until a couple of years ago even its own executives failed to realise it had.
Teenagers and university students are buying BlackBerrys in droves for a single feature – and it is not e-mail.
BlackBerry Messenger – or “BBM” – is an instant-messaging application only available on RIM devices.
Superficially similar to SMS text messaging, it is both faster and cheaper, coming free without the need for a data package.
It is used by more than 39m people worldwide with usage up six times over the past 12 months, making it a real threat to operators’ text-message revenues in some markets.
“BBM has been a huge success story for RIM,” says Pete Cunningham, analyst at Canalyst. “A couple of years ago, BlackBerrys were only used in the corporate space. Then they caught a wave of coolness.”
Particularly popular in the UK, Indonesia, South Africa, Venezuela and the Netherlands, celebrities such as musicians Adele and The Saturdays are among BBM’s many fans. “There has been a halo effect in those markets where BBM has really taken off,” says Patrick Spence, RIM’s vice-president for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
According to GfK, the market researcher, BlackBerry was the UK’s biggest-selling smartphone last year. Mr Spence says BBM is the most significant reason that consumers now outnumber business users of BlackBerry.
RIM is hoping that its entrenchment in the youth market will spread back up to older customers and prevent people from switching to rivals.
“It’s evolved almost virally,” Mr Spence says. “It’s become its own cultural phenomenon. These things do fly under the radar . . . It’s easy to look back and say: ‘weren’t we smart’ but when we put BlackBerry out there, users determine how they are going to use it and what is ultimately the driver.”
posted by infini at 5:07 AM on August 11, 2011 [2 favorites]
But BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has a secret weapon – one that until a couple of years ago even its own executives failed to realise it had.
Teenagers and university students are buying BlackBerrys in droves for a single feature – and it is not e-mail.
BlackBerry Messenger – or “BBM” – is an instant-messaging application only available on RIM devices.
Superficially similar to SMS text messaging, it is both faster and cheaper, coming free without the need for a data package.
It is used by more than 39m people worldwide with usage up six times over the past 12 months, making it a real threat to operators’ text-message revenues in some markets.
“BBM has been a huge success story for RIM,” says Pete Cunningham, analyst at Canalyst. “A couple of years ago, BlackBerrys were only used in the corporate space. Then they caught a wave of coolness.”
Particularly popular in the UK, Indonesia, South Africa, Venezuela and the Netherlands, celebrities such as musicians Adele and The Saturdays are among BBM’s many fans. “There has been a halo effect in those markets where BBM has really taken off,” says Patrick Spence, RIM’s vice-president for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
According to GfK, the market researcher, BlackBerry was the UK’s biggest-selling smartphone last year. Mr Spence says BBM is the most significant reason that consumers now outnumber business users of BlackBerry.
RIM is hoping that its entrenchment in the youth market will spread back up to older customers and prevent people from switching to rivals.
“It’s evolved almost virally,” Mr Spence says. “It’s become its own cultural phenomenon. These things do fly under the radar . . . It’s easy to look back and say: ‘weren’t we smart’ but when we put BlackBerry out there, users determine how they are going to use it and what is ultimately the driver.”
posted by infini at 5:07 AM on August 11, 2011 [2 favorites]
I have heard BBM talked about as a safer method to transmit illegal information (i.e. drug transactions) as it is seen as not as susceptible to surveillance/record keeping as texts through a phone company. (this from an individual who would have been using the messenging system for those purposes)
No idea if this is correct, but it seems like the sort of thing that could easily spread through a group/society.
posted by davey_darling at 5:51 AM on August 11, 2011
No idea if this is correct, but it seems like the sort of thing that could easily spread through a group/society.
posted by davey_darling at 5:51 AM on August 11, 2011
BBM is the communication of choice for my teens here in the States. Seems very plausible it was used in the UK to me.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:05 AM on August 11, 2011
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:05 AM on August 11, 2011
Countries that already view Blackberry as a "security threat" include Algeria, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. For why and how, see here.
posted by Mister Bijou at 6:17 AM on August 11, 2011
posted by Mister Bijou at 6:17 AM on August 11, 2011
In a discussion included in the second half of the 8/9 BBC Newspod, it was explained that part of the appeal of Blackberry Messenger wasn't just that it was free, but that the device doesn't keep a copy of the outgoing group-message, making it fairly untraceable.
posted by bentley at 9:52 AM on August 11, 2011
posted by bentley at 9:52 AM on August 11, 2011
From The Economist: Technology and Disorder - The Blackberry Riots
From this it appears that the encryption of messages is something which is offered to corporate networks - not something built into BBM. The author also mentions that if the police are able to obtain data from RIM then they should be able to piece together the message sent, the place it was sent from and CCTV image taken from near that place in order to build some compelling evidence against a rioter. However a number of the suspects will have been on Pay as You Go arrangements; in the UK it is often hard to nail down the identities of such people.
posted by rongorongo at 12:13 AM on August 12, 2011
From this it appears that the encryption of messages is something which is offered to corporate networks - not something built into BBM. The author also mentions that if the police are able to obtain data from RIM then they should be able to piece together the message sent, the place it was sent from and CCTV image taken from near that place in order to build some compelling evidence against a rioter. However a number of the suspects will have been on Pay as You Go arrangements; in the UK it is often hard to nail down the identities of such people.
posted by rongorongo at 12:13 AM on August 12, 2011
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posted by vacapinta at 2:31 AM on August 11, 2011