It’s time for experts and institutions to earn back the public’s trust by “acknowledging misteaks,” according to Steak-umm’s latest tweetstorm.
In a “beefy thread,” the frozen meat company unpacked the reasons behind widespread distrust in institutions, hoping to fight back against polarization and prevent society from “splinter[ing] into irreconcilable realities.”
“People naturally distrust power,” the brand wrote, so experts need to “meat people where they are and deliver tangible benefits to improve their lives.”
ok it’s time to talk about societal distrust in experts and institutions, the rise of misinformation, cultural polarization, and how to work toward some semblance of mutually agreed upon information before we splinter into irreconcilable realities
(beefy thread incoming)
— Steak-umm (@steak_umm) July 28, 2021
Twitter users weighed in on the frozen meat brand’s commentary, with one user calling it “incisive.”
it’s 2021 so obviously some of the more incisive societal commentary on misinformation and cultural divides you’ll read today comes from the meat company https://t.co/MSoFVdsgYm
— Shiv Ramdas (@nameshiv) July 28, 2021
Who had “Steak-umm posts an insightful doctoral thesis on media literacy” on their apocalypse bingo card? https://t.co/7JfccgHBug
— Evan Shapiro (@eshap) July 29, 2021
The brand also linked its “official thread of threads,” featuring rants that cover critical thinking, conspiracy theories and memes, among other topics. (RELATED: Steak-Umm Brand Sandwich Meat Takes Aim At Neil deGrasse Tyson On Twitter)
this is the official steak-umm thread of threads to organize our top tweetstorm rants from over the years. topics include scientific literacy, critical thinking, memes, cognitive biases, woke brands, polarization, conspiracy theories, and more
steak-umm bless
— Steak-umm (@steak_umm) December 8, 2020
Steak-umm wrapped up its rant with a signature “steak-umm bless” and a helpful reminder: “Remember, this whole thread was an ad so please buy our frozen meat.”
Americans’ trust in both government and media has steadily declined. The U.S. ranked last out of 46 countries in a recent survey on public trust of the media, with only 29% of respondents saying that they trust the news media a majority of the time, the Daily Caller reported. An NPR poll also found that 45% of Americans distrust or only “somewhat” trust the CDC, an issue that has been amplified by inconsistent guidelines.