We need pandemic wisdom. Because so much is at steak.

In a pandemic, our gravest danger besides the virus itself comes from the avalanche of politically motivated mis-informers, fact deniers, conspiracy theorists and simple idiots. To find truth and level-headedness, we must seek the wisest, most credible sources. We should all turn to ….

The social media account of a frozen beef product.

In the past two weeks, the social media account of Steak-umm, maker of frozen steak products such as Philly cheesesteaks, has gone viral with a collection of Twitter threads about the dire need for factual accuracy, human compassion and resistance to bad actors in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. Its initial thread on April 6 has surpassed 68,000 likes and 18,000 retweets. Multiple commenters said they found greater intelligence in the thread than in some of the government leaders dealing with the outbreak.

On the importance of accurate information:

On bad actors:

On the need for social harmony in a pandemic:

On appreciation for essential workers:

On how individuals can help:

On the credibility of journalism:

The account even used its spike in fame to help raise money for Feeding America.

Tweeters responded favorably:

• “Who’d of thought frozen meat would be smarter than half of the US population….”

• “Steak-umm offering the sensible, rational defense of truth, repudiation of opportunism, and call to humanity that we all need right now.”

• “Whatever they are paying you, SteakUmm dude, tell them I said to double it.”

That dude is Nathan Allebach. He’s a millennial who works for Allebach Communications, a food marketing company in Souderton, Pennsylvania, that is owned by his father and has Steak-umm as a client. His age and who he works for are relevant because, according to a 2018 profile on melmagazine.com, millennial disaffection and a feeling of isolation lie at the heart of Allebach’s history of unconventional topics for a commercial marketing social media account (with the obvious blessing of Steak-umm corporate HQ). Such accounts inherently involve some degree of embellishment, for no one’s product is completely as good as they say it is. The twist that Steak-umm is now crusading against misinformation isn’t lost on Allebach: “We’re a frozen meat brand posting ads inevitably made to misdirect people and generate sales, so this is peak irony,” he tweeted.

It’s a fully formed circle of irony, in fact. Allebach refers to his approach as “anti-marketing,” but social media comments suggest that Steak-umm now has a lot of new customers.

It’s interesting that Allebach chose to make his posts on the brand’s account rather than a personal one. Anticipated benefit to his client was no doubt one reason, but he also made this observation: “For some reason people are more inclined to listen when it’s coming from a brand rather than a person which is pretty unfortunate.”

In a politicized pandemic, social media can do enormous damage to truth and to proper response. But they can also offer an oasis of sanity, even if you have to look in an unexpected place.