Local Level - resolving community issues

Following the rioting and looting in English cities in August, the Guardian's Joe Public blog published an article by Kevin Harris and Hugh Flouch examining the ways people used social media at a local level to share information, reassure one another, contain rumour and misinformation, and begin the healing process. The piece argues that local sites like Harringay Online, which is close to Tottenham where the disturbances began, quietly fulfilled the kind of role that politicians call for - validating information and making it public, urging calmness, and helping to mobilise the subsequent response.