After the U.K. government blamed social networks for fueling the riots last summer, a study shows that Twitter did not incite rioters but was used as a source for positive work.
Instead of helping to cause rioting , Twitter was a force for good, helping to mobilize the post-riot clean up, according to a study from the Joint Information Systems Committee, a research group composed of educators from U.K. universities.
"Politicians and commentators were quick to claim that social media played an important role in inciting and organizing riots , calling for sites such as Twitter to be closed should events of this nature happen again," said Rob Procter, University of Manchester professor and leader of the study.
The study analyzed tweets made during the rioting.
"But our analysis found no evidence of significance in the data we have analyzed that would justify such a course action in respect to Twitter," he added. "In contrast, we do find strong evidence that Twitter was a valuable tool for mobilizing support for the post-riot clean up and for organizing specific clean up activities."
The riots began in August after police shot and killed a 29-year-old man. Rioting and looting quickly spread to cities across the U.K., shaking the country and drawing worldwide attention.
Days after the riots began, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that he was considering a ban on social networking to help put an end to the riots. In discussions with Scotland Yard and U.K. intelligence agencies, Cameron said the ban was considered so rioters couldn't use social networks to coordinate criminal activity.
However, the study showed that social networks were used more for positive efforts than illegal ones.
"The influence of social media on society is growing rapidly so we need a much better understanding of their impact on people's lives," said Torsten Reimer, a program manager with the committee. "In the case of Twitter, this means analyzing gigantic amounts of data, constantly created by millions of people, a task that requires new tools and methods."
Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed . Her e-mail address is sgaudin@computerworld.com .
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