Death of internet activist Aaron Swartz prompts flood of Twitter tributes

Tim Berners-Lee and Cory Doctorow among thousands to pay tribute to 26-year-old campaigner for freedom of information

• guardian.co.uk, Saturday 12 January 2013 13.55 EST

Aaron Swartz pictured in Miami Beach, Florida in 2009. Photograph: Michael Francis Mcelroy/New York Times / Redux / eyevine

The death of Aaron Swartz, the Reddit co-founder and internet freedom activist who is reported to have killed himself in New York on Friday, prompted a flood of tributes on Twitter.

Given Swartz's status as a committed and prominent advocate for online freedom, it was fitting that Tim Berners-Lee was among those to honour him. The inventor of the world wide web was one of many friends, colleagues and supporters who took to social media to pay their respects.

Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the world wide web

Cory Doctorow, author and blogger

Larry Lessig, professor and founder of Creative Commons

Glenn Greenwald, Guardian blogger and columnist

Birgitta Jonsdottir, Icelandic politician and free speech campaigner

Trevor Timm, activist at Electronic Frontier Foundation

W3C Team, a web-based community dedicated to internet growth

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