As the U.K. reflects on its recent bout of riots--with analysts searching for lessons and Prime Minister David Cameron declaring a "war on gangs"--Pew's Project for Excellence in Journalism is similarly taking a step back from the media frenzy and analyzing what coverage of the unrest looked like. In a report published this afternoon, Pew noted that while the "mainstream" media focused on the "causes of the anger behind the riots" (we did a bit of this ourselves), social media users "were much more intent on denouncing the destruction that left five people dead, more than 3,100 arrested and an estimated £200 million worth of property damage." You can read the full report here.

As part of its examination of new media, Pew list the five most-watched riot videos on YouTube, a helpful review of the startling images that provoked such visceral reactions among social media users. We've included them below, in order. The most-watched video has 5.5 million views.

Men steal items from an injured Malaysian student's backpack while appearing to help him:

West Indian writer Darcus Howe engages in a testy exchange with a BBC anchor over the racial tensions behind the riots:

Russia Today footage shows vehicles in flames in Tottenham:

Another Russia Today clip shows looting and clashes between rioters and police:

Sky News video captures rioters stealing merchandise from shops in Clapham Junction:

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Uri Friedman