To wonder whether the media headlines about teenage gatherings in Clapham have been a bit exaggerated?

Carla786 · 2026-04-03T02:00:22+00:00

I live near but not in Clapham. I understand it must be very scary if you are in the area, having these crowds of teenagers suddenly turning up. But AIBU to think the media are exaggerating the danger? I have heard there was some looting and one girl arrested for attacking a police officer but overall there doesn't seem to have been mass violence or theft. Just a lot of teens, some of them disturbingly masked, gathering in one place in big numbers because of some TikTok trend. I honestly wonder if all the media coverage was unhelpful in the sense that it may have given them the reaction they wanted. AIBU?

Original poster

Carla786 · 07/04/2026 10:50

This Substack has a key point; a lot of the problem was people not actually committing crime but filing it and inciting it.

'bored teenagers blurring the lines between filming crimes and participating in them, and viral videos spreading awareness of what people can get away with in the face of security guards trained not to confront teenagers.

what happened last week was a very different beast to the pan-London riots and looting of 2011 that affected nearby streets, which caused millions of pounds in damage and leaving buildings burned to the ground. While a small number of teenagers have been arrested this week, with the Met promising more arrests coming, the main theft seems to have been of small food items rather than the electrical goods or expensive trainers that looters made off with fifteen years ago..

Instead, there seemed to be a new purpose – filming yourself engaging in a public display of disorder, to be uploaded to the internet in real time. The footage is no longer just the record of the behaviour, but the point of it. Rather than damaging property and stealing goods, the lasting damage seems to have been to trust in the Met’s ability to keep order.

Footage from the scene often shows more people filming than taking part in the disorder.
“They’re trying to make a statement that they can do whatever they want,” said one 15-year-old we talked to at one of Clapham Common’s basketball courts, reflecting on the events of last week.'

https://www.londoncentric.media/p/clapham-chaos-videos-viral-what-really-happened

What actually happened in Clapham last week?

Teenagers running riot in an M&S food hall, disorder as a form of content creation, and a global focus on 'petty' crime in London just when the mayor least wants it.

https://www.londoncentric.media/p/clapham-chaos-videos-viral-what-really-happened

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Original poster

Carla786 · 07/04/2026 10:42

Inyeresting response from the Guardian, in many senses. I think the downplaying of the genuine danger and crime is awful.

At the same time, I think they have a valid point about the behaviour of a lot not being criminal and the online factor allowing what many intended to be a meet up gling crazily out of control.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/03/experts-respond-to-mass-teen-meet-ups-clapham-london

I see a lot of parallels with the Notting Hill Carnival - it's officially a harmless event but im reality it's hugely violent.

‘Young people want to come together’: experts respond to mass teen meet-ups in Clapham

Academics and youth workers say cuts to services and lack of public space help explain recent unrest in south London

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/03/experts-respond-to-mass-teen-meet-ups-clapham-london

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anon666 · 05/04/2026 19:22

I'm sorry but imagine this was your high street. A gang of youths of one ethnicity raiding shops, in a very multicultural area with many races all living harmoniously. Its very odd.

I have seen quite a bit of footage. The youths were black. There are increasing problems with gangs of black youths in SE London, and there is a reluctance on the part of law and order to intervene, for fear of being called racist. Yet to leave these kids to become feral is actually unfair to them anyway. There is no responsible authority guiding them. Not parents. Not police. Not schools.

These are the same gangs carrying knives. By minimising it, we're collectively writing them off. To knife crime. To petty theft. To social disenchantment.

Everyone was once a teenager. A bit of helpful guidance from authority, with a deterrent, is surely essential.

I despair of the wokerati response to this. If these were your kids, your kids friends, would ypu be so laid back for the authorities to be laissez faire?

Sometimeswinning · 04/04/2026 20:44

Carla786 · 04/04/2026 15:52

Are you implying it hasn't been reported because they were largely ethnic minority?(The videos I've seen were quite blurry and didn't give much detail, but some pps I've read say they were mostly black. We need more info to know for sure though)

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The videos you’ve seen are quite blurry? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Jog on.

OonaStubbs · 04/04/2026 17:34

Carla786 · 04/04/2026 16:00

If juvenile incarceration works so well, how come it doesn't seem to improve recidivism rates much?

I agree criminals should be jailed but locking up huge numbers of teens isn't a very hopeful future, especially with birth rates falling. We need to fix the root causes.

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The root cause is piss-poor parenting. The recidivism rate for people who are locked up and kept locked up is 0%. Plus they can't go onto have more kids themselves who will go onto be the next generation of trouble causers.

EasternStandard · 04/04/2026 17:05

Carla786 · 04/04/2026 16:00

If juvenile incarceration works so well, how come it doesn't seem to improve recidivism rates much?

I agree criminals should be jailed but locking up huge numbers of teens isn't a very hopeful future, especially with birth rates falling. We need to fix the root causes.

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Locking young people up will probably make their lives worse but I don’t agree that this is a media issue.

I just heard M&S line of ‘epidemic of violent theft’ and the Iceland response below. It’s a problem that needs to be looked at not downplayed.

InterestedDad37 · 04/04/2026 16:55

Carla786 · 04/04/2026 15:58

Don't be silly. It would be very easy for the CCP to manipulate algorithms to spread this stuff on TikTok. We know they do that with divisive content like 'gender wars' stuff.
The Chinese company who started TikTok deliberately designed it to be addictive and disruptive. The Chinese version of the app that Chinese teens use was designed to be much less so.

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That may be so, but you've gone from "just a lot of teens... gathering in one place in big numbers because of some TikTok trend" (in your OP) to a major, concerted attempt to bring down Western civilisation.

Original poster

Carla786 · 04/04/2026 16:01

Wolmando · 03/04/2026 14:10

One of the shop employees had ammonia thrown in their face.

See my post on page 1. That was horrific but not to do with the Clapham gangs, it was separate.

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Original poster

Carla786 · 04/04/2026 16:00

Wipeywipey · 03/04/2026 18:38

I think there is some truth to this - we all need to make our teens aware that fake videos are riling people up and not to follow like sheep. Show them how many get stuck up mountains after believing a tiktok trail, people falling off cliffs for a photo...these platforms thrive on lack of critical thinking and group psychology and we know how political these sites have become. Farage will be having a field day.

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I agree

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Original poster

Carla786 · 04/04/2026 16:00

OonaStubbs · 03/04/2026 19:59

Lock them up and keep them locked up. That is the only answer that has been proven to work, time after time.

If juvenile incarceration works so well, how come it doesn't seem to improve recidivism rates much?

I agree criminals should be jailed but locking up huge numbers of teens isn't a very hopeful future, especially with birth rates falling. We need to fix the root causes.

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Original poster

Carla786 · 04/04/2026 15:58

InterestedDad37 · 03/04/2026 13:19

The idea of a bunch of CCP top bods sitting in a room, shouting "now go Mcdonald!" and "now raid fridge at Mark Spark!" or "now run dow middle of road!" down the phone to a bunch of teenage thugs who've had too much caffeine is comical. But it's essentially what you are suggesting has happened.
I know their intentions are generally not favourable to the West, but you're slipping down a conspiracy black hole

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Don't be silly. It would be very easy for the CCP to manipulate algorithms to spread this stuff on TikTok. We know they do that with divisive content like 'gender wars' stuff.
The Chinese company who started TikTok deliberately designed it to be addictive and disruptive. The Chinese version of the app that Chinese teens use was designed to be much less so.

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Original poster

Carla786 · 04/04/2026 15:54

Tontostitis · 04/04/2026 06:51

Have you read the statement by M &S? The assaults on staff in the last week alone are horrific. Ignoring these attacks and hoping they'll go away if they don't get attention smacks of the gentle parenting approach that's created these little shits

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They should be punished, definitely! I'm just not sure how helpful the media attention is.

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Original poster

Carla786 · 04/04/2026 15:54

scalt · 04/04/2026 06:59

Lots of things on the news are not as they seem. 2020 proved that - stock photos of people “flocking” to beaches, the photo of the long walk in Windsor great park taken at an angle to look as if people were crowded together - and I’m still anticipating a confession of “actually, some of the videos in early 2020 involved actors”. There were plenty of actors available who had had their work snatched away.

I took part in the anti-lockdown protest marches, and saw with my own eyes how big they were: easily hundreds of thousands of people, maybe even a million. What did the BBC say? “A couple of hundred conspiracy theorists on Speakers Corner”. Yeah, right.

What long walk in Windsor Park?

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Original poster

Carla786 · 04/04/2026 15:52

Auroraloves · 04/04/2026 10:05

@Carla786 ive seen the videos on social media, surprisingly it doesn’t seem to have been reported much in the news.

I wonder why. What was the been demographic of the rioters?

Are you implying it hasn't been reported because they were largely ethnic minority?(The videos I've seen were quite blurry and didn't give much detail, but some pps I've read say they were mostly black. We need more info to know for sure though)

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Original poster

Carla786 · 04/04/2026 15:50

OonaStubbs · 03/04/2026 20:19

Yes. And do away with the "human rights" garbage for prisoners. If they want to behave like animals, treat them like animals.

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What do you mean by that, exactly?

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Auroraloves · 04/04/2026 10:05

@Carla786 ive seen the videos on social media, surprisingly it doesn’t seem to have been reported much in the news.

I wonder why. What was the been demographic of the rioters?

Friendlygingercat · 04/04/2026 09:56

I hope they will be dealt with as harshly as the rioters last sumer.

EasternStandard · 04/04/2026 08:39

endofthelinefinally · 04/04/2026 07:07

Another staff member was head butted and hospitalised according to a news report yesterday. Elderly people and parents with young children were frightened and intimidated. It isn't acceptable or excusable behaviour at all.

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This is awful. I just heard a headline on what Iceland security are asking for

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/iceland-lord-walker-of-broxton-shoplifting-truncheons-pepper-spray-retail-crime-b2951681.html#

Iceland boss: Security guards should carry truncheons to fight retail crime

Lord Walker of Broxton, executive chairman of Iceland, told The Times ‘just one incident of violence against my staff is too many’.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/iceland-lord-walker-of-broxton-shoplifting-truncheons-pepper-spray-retail-crime-b2951681.html#

endofthelinefinally · 04/04/2026 07:07

Wolmando · 03/04/2026 14:10

One of the shop employees had ammonia thrown in their face.

Another staff member was head butted and hospitalised according to a news report yesterday. Elderly people and parents with young children were frightened and intimidated. It isn't acceptable or excusable behaviour at all.

scalt · 04/04/2026 06:59

Lots of things on the news are not as they seem. 2020 proved that - stock photos of people “flocking” to beaches, the photo of the long walk in Windsor great park taken at an angle to look as if people were crowded together - and I’m still anticipating a confession of “actually, some of the videos in early 2020 involved actors”. There were plenty of actors available who had had their work snatched away.

I took part in the anti-lockdown protest marches, and saw with my own eyes how big they were: easily hundreds of thousands of people, maybe even a million. What did the BBC say? “A couple of hundred conspiracy theorists on Speakers Corner”. Yeah, right.

Tontostitis · 04/04/2026 06:51

Carla786 · 03/04/2026 03:13

I understand that it was very scary for the people who were there. I suppose I just wonder whether all the dramatic reporting in a sense gave the stupid people there what they wanted : attention & notoriety.

Have you read the statement by M &S? The assaults on staff in the last week alone are horrific. Ignoring these attacks and hoping they'll go away if they don't get attention smacks of the gentle parenting approach that's created these little shits

NeelyOHara · 04/04/2026 06:42

GloiredeDijon · 03/04/2026 20:34

I have often thought that such fast food chains should have to supply their own security (not to mention litter pickers) to deal with the behaviour of their numerous awful customers.

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They do in most McDonald’s in town centres or problem areas. HTH.

OonaStubbs · 03/04/2026 21:34

It has always been the same outside McDonalds as long as I can remember, going back to the late 80s when the first one near me opened. Where did neerdowells hang out before McDonalds?

LakieLady · 03/04/2026 20:39

I think every town in the country has a group of teens and wrong-uns that hang around outside McDonalds. It is a magnet for bad behaviour where I live.

We don't have a Macdonalds, and I have no idea where local teens hang out. I've never seen any sign of groups of kids hanging around when I've driven through town in the afternoon/evening, so it must be somewhere pretty discreet.

I can't think of any shops here that they'd want to loot, either, with the possible exception of the booze aisle in Tesco. I can't see teens stripping Sea Salt or White Stuff of their stock, somehow.

GloiredeDijon · 03/04/2026 20:34

Wipeywipey · 03/04/2026 09:52

I think every town in the country has a group of teens and wrong-uns that hang around outside McDonalds. It is a magnet for bad behaviour where I live.

I have often thought that such fast food chains should have to supply their own security (not to mention litter pickers) to deal with the behaviour of their numerous awful customers.