This may come as a big surprise, but you cannot trust everything you see on Facebook, Twitter or even YouTube.

Anyone can post anything on social media at anytime.

Don’t allow yourself to be duped.

While your local newspaper sometimes shares the news on its social media accounts, a newspaper has a responsibility to fact check. A newspaper should never knowingly print false information.

That does not mean newspaper reporters cannot be duped or that they do not make mistakes.

However, newspapers take what they do seriously and have high standards for verifying the information published in print or online.

When we make a mistake, we correct it as soon as we know about it.

Many of our readers have opted to receive free text alerts and push notifications of breaking news, sports and weather in our coverage area.

The goal of the newspaper is always to be the leading source of information. However, we understand that being the leading source of information only matters if that information is accurate and reliable.

How many times have you read something on Facebook only to find out later it was simply not true?

Embarrassing right?

The Moultrie Observer publishes news you can trust. We will not sacrifice credibility in order to beat the social media crowd that often rushes to post unverified information.

There are people and organizations — some even claiming to be the “media” — that are quick to post anything sensational or scandalous, whether it has been verified or not. We want our readers to know when they read the news in print, on the newspaper’s website or its social media accounts they can rely on that information.

No one should ever claim something is true just because they “saw it on the Internet.” However, you should have confidence in the veracity of what comes from your local newspaper.

When it comes to breaking news in our community, more often than not we will be the first to have it.

When we do post breaking news, you can have the confidence of knowing, however, that we took the time to verify the information before posting on our site, sending a text alert or broadcasting it on social-media accounts.

That is what we do each day. It’s our job. It is all a part of our ongoing efforts to report facts, celebrate community and demand accountability in ways you can trust.