“See something, say something” is a national campaign headlined by Homeland Security to raise public awareness of the signs of terrorism and terrorism-related crime. But it’s also a vital tool for more local concerns — as long as we’re saying that something to the right people.

Coming on the heels of the Sept. 4 mass shootings at Apalachee High School — a school only about four hours away from those in North Alabama, including those in Cullman and Limestone counties — it’s understandable that security concerns and tensions are now heightened in our local schools, as well as in schools across the nation.

That sense of intense urgency is why assumed and vague threats circulating throughout our communities during the past week — in both Limestone and Cullman — were handled quickly, correctly and successfully by our local school administrators and law enforcement. Indeed, these authorities are to be commended for such quick investigative work in determining that any supposed threats did not actually constitute a hostile action of any sort and that our children and educators were, and are, in no danger.

We also commend our school administrators for their transparency and efforts to keep the community informed during that investigation.

Continuing that effort, Dr. Shane Barnette, superintendent of Cullman County Schools, sent parents a voice call update at 9:36 p.m. on Sept. 11, which was also posted to the schools’ website and social media accounts. In effect, Barnette said, the rumors about schools being on a “target list” was, after an investigation, determined to derive incorrectly from a government document being circulated online citing a list of schools eligible for “Target Assistance” for Federal Title 1 funding.

“It has nothing to do with a threat, but it was shared as such,” Barnette said.

And that’s the problem.

Had school and law officials not worked so efficiently to debunk the threat, it is not a leap to consider the communitywide panic that could have ensued. Although that would be understandable — these are our children — such an outcome would not have been desirable and could be avoided.

Barnette said as much in his call to parents: “I want to challenge you that if you don’t know about something first hand, and you hear of something, take it to an administrator so we can investigate it.”

In other words, if you don’t know of what you speak, social media shouldn’t be your very first platform. Instead, alert those who might know — or at least can investigate, alert and advise all of us in the community.

We know that social media has great purposes and its potential for informing masses of people is historically unheralded. We also know that “see something, say something” has saved lives. But if you don’t know for certain what you are seeing, the obligation is to say something first to those who can get a clear picture. That’s truly the best way to get information out to all of us.