HUBBARD, Ohio - Hubbard police recently took a call about a little girl approached by a man in her yard.
"A young girl was playing outside and a vehicle rolled up to their driveway and a gentleman rolled down the window and said, 'Young lady come here, I need some directions,'" said Hubbard Police Chief James Taafe. "[That] frightened the little girl and she ran, like she should, ran to her house and told her parents and her parents in turn called the police."
Police are investigating why the man approached the little girl.
"The pretext was for directions, is that what he was really looking for?" said Chief Taafe. "We don't know at this point."
Meanwhile, neighbors began warning each other on Facebook. The Hubbard Police Department recently created its own Facebook and Twitter pages where it can quickly share accurate information.
"It allows us to keep the public informed as to what's going on in our community as its happening, rather than finding out about it a day or two later like is so often the case these days," Chief Taafe said.
Sometimes news by social media can backfire, as it did last Friday when false rumors of a gang fight at a local mall run amok online, wasting police resources.
Posting rumors online can be criminal. For instance, claiming a fake bomb threat is considered inducing panic.
Experts say more people are turning to social media as their primary news source.
"It's actually not a bad strategy," said Kelly McBride, social media expert at the Poynter Institute. "Because they can find news and they can get almost all the information they need to engage in daily life. However, a lot of bad information goes around social media."
McBride says you can avoid rumors by verifying all information through a third, independent source.
"Consider the source that you are looking at," she warned. "Is this a source that reliably gives you good information or is it a source that you're completely unfamiliar with?"
Hubbard Police created an online way to verify your questions.
"If there's ever any doubt, take advantage of the 'Ask a Cop' section on there and we'll be happy to tell you what the truth is," Chief Taafe said.
