If the riots have bred one thing it's stupidity. Yeah I said it. Every time I log on to social networking sites to see how friends are doing and in the case of Twitter to sort of stalk celebs I am blinded by the stupidity on show. In the last few days of rioting, every day has brought about a fresh rumour that the riots have moved to my home county of Essex and in particular my home town, Basildon. Due to the nature of social networking these messages spread across the entire county and amongst some the fear sets in. Ridiculous rumours spread, "Primark is on fire" or "The town centre is burning." Gangs on the streets and clashes with police? It could be any normal night in Basildon and it is only in the context of the riots that these unrelated incidents appear anything out of the ordinary.
Don't let the rumours catch you out, follow these simple steps to put your mind at ease. (I'll be using Essex as an example but the steps can apply to anyone, anywhere and at anytime).
1) Just because a friend has texted you with some dodgy rumour, don't assume they know any better than you.
2) Use websites like Twitter to follow your local police and news outlets for example http://twitter.com/#!/EssexPoliceUK and http://twitter.com/#!/DailyEssex
3) Keep watching the news. Sounds simple but in all the news reports I've seen the only mention of Essex has been the outstanding work the police have done so far in supporting the Met and in keeping Essex from descending into riots.
4) Use this map from the Guardian, accessible here to confirm the riot sites. If you can't see anything new then the 'riot' you've heard about is nothing more than the usual activity in your area.
Until Next Time. Stay Classy Internet.
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