Owen Sound Police are warning about the dangers of posting incorrect information on social media after a weekend Facebook post describing an attempted child abduction went viral but turned out to be false.

Police say the post made on Sunday had more than 400 interactions, 250 comments and was shared 1,300 despite being false.

Police had to direct substantial resources to investigate the false report and determine its validity.

Police are reminding people that social media posts are difficult to fact check and in some cases the post may be unintentionally misconstrued.