Tottenham Court Road ‘siege’ shows how Twitter can hinder, not help, rolling news

Twitter was at the forefront of another breaking news story this week as Michael Green sparked a bombscare and a hostage crisis in Tottenham Court Road, London. As news broke, the phrase ‘Tottenham Court Road’ was quickly trending, while the earliest reports didn’t have the details.

Some tweets reported a bombscare evacuation, some said a man was holding hostages in Starbucks. In fact a disgruntled man had entered the office of Advantage HGV – a driver training company – to accost (and presumably threaten) one specific woman. Continue reading

Tottenham Court Road 'siege' shows how Twitter can hinder, not help, rolling news

Twitter was at the forefront of another breaking news story this week as Michael Green sparked a bombscare and a hostage crisis in Tottenham Court Road, London. As news broke, the phrase ‘Tottenham Court Road’ was quickly trending, while the earliest reports didn’t have the details.

Some tweets reported a bombscare evacuation, some said a man was holding hostages in Starbucks. In fact a disgruntled man had entered the office of Advantage HGV – a driver training company – to accost (and presumably threaten) one specific woman. Continue reading