As the riots spread across London and the rest of the country over the last few days, Twitter has been awash with rumour, exaggeration and downright untruth alongside people spreading useful news.

Here are a few simple pointers on how to get the most out of Twitter as news breaks – and how to avoid scaring people in the process.

Unless you can see it happening, don't tweet about it.

It can be immensely tempting to pass on the vital information that – for instance – Primark in Tooting has burned to the ground. It's a tremendously sad thought for devotees of leopard-print leggings and cheap handbags in south London, so it's no surprise that the news spread like wildfire on Monday night.

The problem was that it was entirely untrue, and served only to spread fear among people living there. In this case, there was a pall of smoke hanging over the high street, and people who couldn't see the source put two and two together and came up with 47 – and then their friends helpfully made things worse by retweeting it.



Bear in mind that some people are making jokes.

This is how the Tooting Primark story began: with people making silly rhyming jokes about stealing in Ealing and looting in Tooting. The problem there is that only one of those things was actually happening at the time, but people latched onto the phrase as though it was true. If you see those sorts of casual references, bear in mind they might just be there to make a punchline. Once again, if you're not certain, ask.

Bear in mind that being scared of something happening isn't the same thing as knowing that it's going to happen.

A lot of the most virulent rumours on Monday night in London came about through people tweeting things like "Oh god, I'm scared they're coming to Brighton/Luton/Scunthorpe." Somehow, in the space of a few tweets, those thoughts morphed into others saying "I'm hearing rumours about them coming to Brighton/Luton/Scunthorpe!" and the whole affair snowballed from there. It's totally understandable that people are scared of what might happen, and want to talk about it – but don't assume that means that looters are imminently descending on Scunthorpe.

If you see rumours, question them directly.

If you retweet a rumour, even if you're looking for confirmation that it isn't true, what you may be doing is scaring a whole new set of people who had no idea that they might be in danger from, say, a giant fire-breathing Deborah Meaden rampaging towards Westminster.

Rather than passing it on and thereby spreading the fear, try tweeting people directly to ask whether they know something is definitely happening, or whether they might have gotten a touch confused between the new Dragon's Den and the rolling riots coverage. Try to get direct confirmation from someone who has actually seen Deborah in all her glory.

Get verification.

Is that picture really of Birmingham, or is it of London? Have the local police said anything about riots in Scunthorpe? Has anyone got any pictures of the giant Deborah Meaden? If not, how do you know it's true?

If you see something you know isn't true, try to correct it.

Some people, for reasons unknown, enjoy tweeting random untruths composed entirely in capital letters about Shepherd's Bush being ON FIRE. Some of those people respond well when asked politely to retract their statements, while others may respond with a wild barrage of random abuse for no readily apparent reason.

However, the people following what's going on in their neighbourhood will appreciate you trying to get the truth out – whether it's through questioning someone in person or through tweeting pictures of bits of Shepherd's Bush which are definitely NOT ON FIRE. Try to add context to your tweets – give people good reasons to believe you more than the other person.

If you're tweeting about things you can see, be specific.

Remember: if you can see it and you've got the means to publish information about it, that makes you a de facto journalist. So be responsible with your power. Be specific about where you are and what you can see.

Resist the urge to exaggerate or assume things you can't see - stick to what's in front of you. If you can tweet pictures, do – but stay safe and don't take unnecessary risks to do so. You're too important to lose.

Follow people you trust to be accurate.

Many local police forces have been using Twitter to give out information and field rumours, and it's well worth finding yours and following them. There are a lot of journalists on Twitter – national newspaper tweeters like our Guardian team, including Paul Lewis and Mustafa Khalili, as well as dozens of reporters from other papers, the BBC, Sky and ITN news teams.

There are also local journalists from local papers, freelancers, and all sorts of folks committed to making sure they spread the truth and don't spread rumours. Every community has a few stalwarts who do this work. Find yours, and help them out.

This Twitter list of trusted journalists covering the riots, compiled by the Sky News producer Neal Mann, aka @fieldproducer, is also useful.

If you've been out looting and rioting, please tweet about it.

Following this advice will make the police's job much easier.