Social Media and its influence

Sean Duffy targeted Facebook tribute pages and posted videos on YouTube taunting the dead victims and their families...

The readers' editor on… the need for sensitive reporting of England's riots...

Some stories lumber down the track for months, announcing their approach with bells, whistles and a final ear-shattering fanfare: the 2012 Olympics is a case in point. Others appear to come out of nowhere, catching everyone – or nearly everyone – by surprise with devastating consequences.

The death of Mark Duggan, 29, on Wednesday 4 August at Tottenham Hale in north-east London, at the hands of a police firearm specialist, is in the second category.

Dan Sabbagh: Social networks are to face questions from ministers over their role in the UK riots – could they do more to stop unrest?