In the age of social media, it’s easier for information to get dispersed quickly where thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — of people can access it quickly. The debate on fake news will continue on how to make sure that information is accurate, but we’ll let that debate continue in barber shops and around water coolers.

During the last week, the power of social media has been felt locally. For instance, the West Point Police Department posted on Wednesday about a man who had been missing for several days, asking locals to call with any information on his whereabouts. A few hours later the man was located, presumably with some help from people who saw the post on social media.

Another example are several recent posts from the Troup County Sheriff’s Office. The TCSO has posted about several crimes in the last few days, including one that involved a man allegedly stealing more than a dozen chainsaws from Diverse Power. Another crime involved three suspects who allegedly tried to back into an armory in West Point.

Two of them are still on the loose at this point, and the TCSO is asking anyone with information to step forward.

The West Point Police Department is investigating an apparent homicide that occurred Wednesday evening on Dogwood Circle. The WPPD posted on social media Thursday afternoon, giving information about three men they’d like to talk to in regard to the incident.

In each of these recent cases — and many more — local authorities need someone to step forward with information to help in solving these cases.

There’s a lot of nonsense on social media these days, but we hope people are able to sort through the clutter and find important information — like trying to solve these crimes in Troup County. If you know anything, we hope you’ll call the local authorities or Troup County Crime Stoppers at (706) 812-1000.