Steak-umm tweets about the coronavirus
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Steak-umm’s Twitter Account Is a Brilliant, Bizarre Voice of Reason in Our Coronavirus Era

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Kaila Hale-Stern
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Published: Apr 10, 2020 02:26 pm

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Another square I didn’t have on my bingo card for 2020: frozen meat product Steak-umm’s official Twitter account is offering some of the more cogent analysis of our coronavirus culture out there.

Steak-umm has long had an interesting Twitter presence for a corporate entity theoretically purposed to raise brand awareness for “thin-sliced frozen steaks” found in the grocery store. The account is run by “Millenial angst personified” social media manager Nathan Allebach, who well understands his generation. But in the time of COVID-19, Steak-umm has come into its own and gone next-level, taking on everything from conspiracy theories and propagandists to the importance of not accepting anecdotes in place of hard data.

It makes a perfect kind of sense that Steak-umm would emerge as a leading philosopher during the Trump administration. In a society ruled by charlatans, where people are desperate for truth-telling, it no longer seems to matter where the message is coming from when it lays out much-needed critical thinking clearly and succinctly. Truly cannot wait to read about this in the history books.

Of course, even the fact of Steak-umm’s virality in this matter is worth questioning as a cultural critique, which Steak-umm has done.

Here was the initial thread that kicked off the recent Steak-umm feeding frenzy:

These tweets went viral, proving Steak-umm’s thesis that “our society values entertainment over truth and that’s a huge problem,” but luckily for us—since we do live in a society where this is the case—the incisive mind behind the frozen meat account continued to amplify important messages and methods of critical thinking. I’d much rather Allebach and Steak-umm have the stage than, say, Fox News.

Steak-umm has gone on in this bent since the viral thread, while celebrities, politicians, and other brands applaud its efforts. Its most recent thread is just as vital, and, I would argue, hugely important for people everywhere to see and understand.

This bit of truth-bombing prompted reactions like this:

And thank you, Steak-umm, for also providing some levity alongside crucial lessons in these uncertain times.

I guess if a morally and economically bankrupt reality show host can be president, a savvy scholar behind a frozen meats social media account can become an essential sage for our era. Steak-umm bless.

(image: Steak-umm, Twitter)

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Image of Kaila Hale-Stern
Kaila Hale-Stern
Kaila Hale-Stern (she/her) is a content director, editor, and writer who has been working in digital media for more than fifteen years. She started at TMS in 2016. She loves to write about TV—especially science fiction, fantasy, and mystery shows—and movies, with an emphasis on Marvel. Talk to her about fandom, queer representation, and Captain Kirk. Kaila has written for io9, Gizmodo, New York Magazine, The Awl, Wired, Cosmopolitan, and once published a Harlequin novel you'll never find.
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