Minutes after the verdict in the George zimmernam murder case was read ,rumors of riots almost immediately broke on the internet. Although most were found to be untrue , the city of Oakland California was the first to have a confirmed outburst of civil unrest. Witnesses in oakland quickly took to twitter and other social media sites to dispel the stories of violence and instead reported peaceful demonstrations .Twitter user @HarryElephante tweets that the reported Oakland riots are not in fact riots, and just small outbreaks of vandalism during a protest, saying:
There is no “rioting” in #Oakland. There is a small march. A couple of people broke the windows of a car. That isn’t a riot. #Zimmerman
Another user reports that Oakland unrest reports are not protestors from Trayvon Martin rallies, saying white “college kids” have been the ones rioting in small numbers. A live stream from Oakland did not appear to show any rioting and showed very little street activity at all .Users on Twitter are sharing purported images out of Oakland, with some indicating property may have been damaged. It is not clear whether the damage shown is related to Trayvon Martin protests, however.
