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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Frozen meat company <keyword id="9237177" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="steak-umm">Steak-umm</keyword> fired off a tweetstorm Thursday about, in part, <keyword id="535763" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Misinformation">misinformation</keyword>.</li><li>It also posted about cultural polarization, media literacy, and other topics.</li><li>The likes of <keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> and Twitter, tasked with policing false info, could take a cue from Steak-umm's insight.</li></ul><p>The most recent lesson on misinformation came from an unlikely teacher: the frozen meat company, Steak-umm. And Facebook, Twitter, and Google should take notes.</p><p>The Pennsylvania-based brand on Thursday posted a <a href="https://twitter.com/steak_umm/status/1420456647667879937">"beefy thread"</a> on Twitter 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."</p><p>Steak-umm said "one universal goal everyone should prioritize is getting people from across the ideological spectrum closer to the same reality of baseline facts and evidence," a difficult feat given in part the expansive nature of online platforms and "people's access to infinite information."</p><p>The company also said there can be shortcomings with experts and institutions, but that doesn't make "fringe sources equally credible or trustworthy."</p><p>Steak-umm didn't name any names in its thread, but the challenges it discussed have been faced by Facebook, Google, and Twitter <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-racism-misinformation-inevitable-zuckerberg-instagram-execs-say-2021-7">for years. </a> Things have only intensified in difficulty since March 2020 as the group controls how much misinformation people see - and can therefore be influenced by - online. False information surrounding the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr-jfk-nephew-anti-vax-misinformation-facebook-2021-7">coronavirus disease</a>, political conspiracies, and the election specifically has taken center stage.</p><p>The companies have attempted to flag information they deemed to be misleading, including from those spreading fringe ideology, prompting backlash from some on the right who claim the platforms are censoring viewpoints they don't agree with.</p><p>But some groups and posts, like those centered around the "Stop the Steal" campaign alleging the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, were allowed to proliferate <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-remove-stop-the-steal-election-fraud-content-2021-1">before Facebook cracked down on them.</a></p><p>It's perhaps not completely surprising that a meat corporation is schooling the internet on the spread of false information. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steak-umm-twitter-account-frozen-meat-2020-5">Steak-umm has been using its Twitter platform to crusade</a> against coronavirus conspiracy theories since last year. It's also gone on <a href="https://twitter.com/steak_umm/status/1336348473713680385">"tweetstorm rants"</a> about scientific literacy, woke brands, and other topics.</p><p>It has set the brand apart, with its steady stream of social awareness commentary (the company swapped "mistakes" for "misteaks" and "meet" with "meat" throughout its Thursday thread.)</p><p>Brands at large have felt pressure to take stances on political and social issues using their social media accounts in the last year, including on the 2020 presidential election and on racism.</p><p>But Steak-umm has taken that to the next level, slicing through the noise and serving up logic-laden tweets.</p>

Steak-umm just schooled the internet on misinformation. Facebook, Twitter, and Google should take notes.

The mysterious Utah monolith disappeared, and brands like Southwest, MoonPie, and Steak-umm are making it all about themselves on Twitter

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="9237177" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="steak-umm">Steak-umm</keyword>, a Pennsylvania-based frozen-steak company, has received an outpouring of attention over its tweets highlighting <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> <keyword id="535763" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Misinformation">misinformation</keyword>.</li><li>The brand has always had a distinctive voice, honed by <keyword id="6354632" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="social-media">social media</keyword> manager Nathan Allebach.</li><li>The scientific community has rallied around Steak-umm as a clear-headed voice for the masses.</li><li>A <keyword id="135160" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="branding">branding</keyword> expert notes that Steak-umm has successfully inserted itself into the national conversation while also setting itself apart from competitors.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>Scientists at the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic have a new online obsession: a frozen-meat company's <keyword id="6354616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword>.</p><p>While they're out fighting the virus, Steak-umm, a Pennsylvania-based purveyor of frozen cheesesteaks, has taken to battling misinformation online.</p><p>The Twitter floodgates broke lose in early April with two threads. The first one, <a href="https://twitter.com/steak_umm/status/1245877088701353984">posted on April 2,</a> garnered a modest amount of Twitter fame with its thoughts on misinformation and cultural polarization.</p><p>But a follow-up thread on April 6 touching on the importance of good data — and where it comes from — was a bona fide hit. The thread received almost 20,000 retweets.</p><p>"Friendly reminder in times of uncertainty and misinformation: anecdotes are not data. (good) data is carefully measured and collected information based on a range of subject-dependent factors, including, but not limited to, controlled variables, meta-analysis, and randomization," read the first tweet in the <a href="https://twitter.com/steak_umm/status/1247343900475490304">thread</a>.</p><p>Since then, Steak-umm has continued to speak out against misinformation — and make its mark on Twitter discourse.</p><p>False information about COVID-19 has been a major issue throughout the pandemic. In February, <a href="https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/un-tackling-%E2%80%98infodemic%E2%80%99-misinformation-and-cybercrime-covid-19">World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said</a> "we're fighting an infodemic," and WHO has assembled a team of "<a href="https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/un-tackling-%E2%80%98infodemic%E2%80%99-misinformation-and-cybercrime-covid-19">mythbusters</a>" to combat false information online.</p><p>And yet, according to an <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/coronavirus-misinformation-widespread-report-calls-infodemic/story?id=70249400">ABC News report</a>, Twitter is "awash" with misinformation. In March, fact-checking site <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-snopes-misinformation-fact-checking-overwhelmed-deadly-consequences-2020-3">Snopes</a> was overwhelmed by reports of false information.</p><p>In the midst of the vast swaths of information circulating online — and the people who incorrectly analyze it — the presence of Steak-umm has become a beacon of hope for scientists who are fighting the pandemic.</p><h2>How Steak-umm love spread through the science community</h2><p>Angela Rasmussen is a virologist at Columbia University in New York. She studies the host response to viral infections for emerging diseases — and now she's doing those types of studies for coronavirus.</p><p>"It's really important that people are being informed and are able to look for good information themselves — but also to remember that we're all going through this together, and we're all human beings, and we're all experiencing a really difficult time," she said. "It's very unusual to see the corporate account for a brand of frozen processed meat sort of marrying those two concepts."</p><p>She said she first found out about the brand's Twitter through an online chat group of scientists — one of whom is Saskia Popescu, an infectious-disease epidemiologist in Phoenix, Arizona.</p><p>Popescu helps hospitals prepare for biological events like pandemics, and has been going into COVID-19 units to work with staff to ensure they're supported.</p><p>For her, the Steak-umm Twitter has become an unlikely resource for spreading understandable — and accurate — information to those outside of the scientific community.</p><p>"The messages that they've pushed out about information and being mindful of what you're reading and you're seeing ... I think those are all messages that are really important to share, and they just presented it in such a way that was so understandable," Popescu told Business Insider. "I have physicians I work with, and we were talking about how amazing that was."</p><p>Sam Wang, a neuroscientist at Princeton University in New Jersey, said he's heard similar sentiments from his peers.</p><p>"I have a colleague in the molecular biology department here at the university, and she seems really tickled by this frozen-sliced-beef brand delivering truth bombs," Wang told Business Insider.</p><p>For Wang, one of the more valuable aspects of the Twitter threads are their accessibility. He said that he lives "in the world of peer-reviewed literature and reading studies" — but that's likely not the case for your average Twitter user.</p><p>"I think there are large sectors of society that are more likely to encounter Steak-umm in their everyday lives than they are to encounter article preprints," Wang said. "So if they learn from their favorite brands that evidence has to be used responsibly, I think that's a whole new vista I would normally not be able to reach because of where I work for a living."</p><h2>How Steak-umm's Twitter came to be</h2><p>Steak-umms has been peddling thinly sliced frozen steaks since 1975. Founder Eugene Gagliardi set out to replicate the Philly cheesesteak experience at home. His recipe was an instant smash, and Gagliardi eventually sold the company for $20 million.</p><p>Today, you can find the steak's distinctive red box in your local frozen-foods aisle. For the more poultry-inclined, it also offers chicken-breast steaks — "the best cluckin' steaks in town."</p><p>But on Twitter, Steak-umm has now distinguished itself within the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-food-twitter-feuds-wendys-popeyes-chick-fil-a-decade-2019-12">crowded world of vocal brand tweets</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-food-twitter-feuds-wendys-popeyes-chick-fil-a-decade-2019-12">Wendy's famously snarky Twitter</a> is tweeting about <a href="https://twitter.com/Wendys/status/1253708482882265088">GroupNugs in lieu of group hugs</a>, while <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/baby-nut-meme-pages-planters-super-bowl-reveal-mr-peanut-2020-2">Baby Nut</a> is posting about how he is the <a href="https://twitter.com/MrPeanut/status/1252319717735497731">reincarnated form of the deceased Mr. Peanut</a>.</p><p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://twitter.com/steak_umm/status/1254252193097580552">Steak-umm</a> is firing off compelling and logic-backed messages on partisanship, ignorance of science, and media literacy.</p><p>"It can be difficult to know what to believe in a time when institutional trust is diminished and the gatekeepers of information have been dismantled, but it's more crucial now than ever before to follow a range of credentialed sources for both breaking news and data collection," <a href="https://twitter.com/steak_umm/status/1247345795575283712">said</a> one tweet in a now-famous April 6 thread.</p><p>But while Steak-umm's popularity may seem like an overnight success, the brand has been slowly building up to this moment for years. So what changed?</p><p>The man behind the curtain is Nathan Allebach, a social media manager at Allebach Communications. He and his team were brought into the Steak-umm family in 2015 with the express mission of reaching the media-savvy millennial audience and a single directive: innovate.</p><p>That innovation — which had already gained recognition in 2018 after pensive tweets waxing about <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/28/17910462/steak-umm-viral-tweet-authenticity-angst">millennial despondency</a> — came to fruition in early April.</p><p>The first attention-grabbing <a href="https://twitter.com/steak_umm/status/1245877088701353984">thread</a> was published on April 2. It touched on partisanship, cultural polarization, and media information. </p><p style="font-weight: 400;">"The goal was to give a simple reminder for people to think critically about where they're getting their information. It was never anything deep or grandiose, but given the current climate of misinformation and institutional distrust, it rang a chord," Allebach told Business Insider in an email.</p><p style="font-weight: 400;">The now famous April 6 thread, which focused on the importance of good data and reporting, received almost 20,000 retweets. The outpouring on Twitter was instantaneous — and Allebach said it made the rounds on "Medical Twitter, to Science Twitter, to Media Twitter, Political Twitter, and so on."</p><p style="font-weight: 400;">Outlets like <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90487288/how-steak-umm-yes-that-steak-umm-became-a-voice-of-reason-in-the-pandemic?partner=rss&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&amp;utm_content=rss;utm_content=rss">Fast Company</a>, <a href="https://t.co/CaT5RBphQj?amp=1">The Wall Street Journal</a>, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/04/21/steak-umm-twitter-account-feed/">The Washington Post</a> clamored to cover them. <a href="https://twitter.com/soledadobrien/status/1248604002817843201">Soledad O'Brien</a> retweeted the brand, and the <a href="https://twitter.com/PATreasury/status/1251269440622247940">Pennsylvania Treasury praised them</a>.</p><p style="font-weight: 400;">The brand doubled its Twitter following in about a week, according to account director Jesse Bender.</p><h2>What it means to be a brand battling misinformation</h2><p>Steak-umm itself would be the first to tell you that it is still fundamentally a brand selling a product.</p><p>"Note: all companies have a bottom line, so anything we publish is a form of propaganda to encourage positive association and memory with our brand, despite whatever our intentions," <a href="https://twitter.com/steak_umm/status/1251200824379871233">read one tweet</a> from April 17. "Remember to consume advertising and PR with skepticism, even if the message is 'helpful.'" </p><p>Matt Tulis, the director of the digital journalism program at Fairfield University, <a href="https://twitter.com/matttullis/status/1252415814239571970">tweeted</a> that he would teach Steak-umm's tweets on media literacy in his journalism classes in the fall.</p><p>"Whether or not it's propaganda, I don't know how they boiled all that down into 280 characters," Tulis told Business Insider. "But they really did a great job of showing me exactly how complicated it really is to be a savvy news consumer."</p><p>Tulis said that, beyond the brand's success in spreading good information, they've gotten him to think about Steak-umms for the first time in "maybe 20 years."</p><p>He wasn't the only one: Popescu said that she'd now be willing to try the frozen steaks, and Wang is "kinda tempted" to try it.</p><p>Branding expert Sally Hogshead said that what Steak-umm has done "brilliantly" is galvanizing a community around a commodity — in this case, frozen steaks.</p><p>"This has really energized a social discussion that was already happening — but it wasn't happening about Steak-umm," Hogshead said. "So, by stepping into this discussion, they're generating a lot of engagement and emotion."</p><p>She added: "If a brand isn't the most fascinating, and the most famous in the category, with the biggest budget, then the brand is never going to succeed, the product isn't going to succeed. But when a brand is different and it has a distinct point of view and a memorable spark in the conversation, people are going to talk about it, remember it, buy it."</p><p>Other brands have approached the pandemic with a variety of responses. Arby's is <a href="https://twitter.com/Arbys/status/1253771434054344710">posting artwork created out of Arby's sauce</a>. McDonald's has <a href="https://twitter.com/McDonalds/status/1254545805769412615">been sending out clapping emojis for healthcare workers at 7:00 p.m</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/BurgerKing/status/1253700694625968129">Burger King</a> has gotten pithier, tweeting: "Not sure why we need to be the ones to tell you this, but don't drink bleach." But none have come close to Steak-umm's detailed threads.</p><p>"Brands have platforms, budgets, and a familiarity with everyday people that allows them the space to voice matters in a way regular people often can't due to sounding self-righteous, polarizing, or just not having the platform," Allebach said. "They just have to be 'honest' and true to their voice, through spreading helpful information, supporting people in need, and so on."</p><p>And that information has certainly proven helpful to scientists.</p><p>"I think especially when you're working in response, like so many of us are right now, it can be very frustrating trying to disseminate good information," Popescu said. She said that it can be difficult to build that "bridge" of good information while in the middle of researching and learning more.</p><p>"Steak-umm coming along and being that third party that really didn't have a horse in the race was kind of just amazing. And it was that lighthearted infusion of pragmatic honesty about research, and about data, and just information in general that was so appreciated," she said. "Everybody I know loves it."</p>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steak-umm-twitter-account-frozen-meat-2020-5">Business Insider</a>

Inside the surreal Twitter world of Steak-umm, a frozen-meat company that's become an unlikely crusader against coronavirus conspiracies — and a darling of the scientists looking for the cure

<p><em>Hello, and welcome to this week's edition of the Insider Tech <keyword id="621414" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Newsletter">newsletter</keyword>, where we break down the biggest news in tech, including:</em></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tanium-wiz-lawsuit-court-texts-hindawi-cybersecurity-2021-7">Tanium's texting tech bros</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-workers-nda-culture-silence-2021-7">Silicon Valley's 'gag order for life'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-board-meeting-attendee-tests-positive-covid-19-infects-others-2021-7">Uber's infectious board meeting</a></li></ul><h4><a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/insider-tech">Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.</a></h4><h2>This week: Big Tech's monster profits and the backlash danger</h2><p>It's been an action packed week in tech, with earnings, IPOs and ongoing pandemic problems. </p><p><strong>In what may be a first, several tech companies posted financial results that were <em>too</em> good.</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-earnings-q2-2021-eps-profit-revenue-growth-warning-stock-2021-7">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-earnings-q3-2021-revenue-iphone-eps-profit-analysis-2021-7">Apple</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-alphabet-earnings-q2-2021-revenue-eps-profit-analysis-2021-7">Alphabet</a> all <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/apple-q3-earnings-reaction-wall-street-analysts-iphone-aapl-2021-7">blew past Wall Street targets</a>, earning a combined $39 billion in profits in Q2. But with critics arguing that Big Tech companies are powerful monopolies that need to be broken up, the super-sized results and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-revenue-google-earnings-technology-2021-7">seemingly effortless growth </a>are not likely to help the tech counterargument.</li><li>The only Big Tech company that missed targets was <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/amazon-earnings-q2-2021-revenue-eps-profit-2021-7?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestgest">Amazon, whose $2 billion revenue shortfall</a> won't really hurt its business prospects, but at least keeps it out of the latest newscycle. </li></ul><p><strong><keyword id="1268253" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Robinhood">Robinhood</keyword> <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/robinhood-ipo-stock-offering-price-filing-hood-valuation-trading-debut-2021-7">had its long-awaited IPO this week.</a></strong></p><ul><li>The stock trading app, infamous for causing <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/robinhood-ceo-vlad-tenev-ipo-retail-investors-meme-stocks-reddit-2021-7">wild fluctuations in so-called meme-stocks,</a> experienced its own turbulent debut, with shares of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/robinhood-stock-price-first-trades-volatile-ipo-trading-debut-hood-2021-7">HOOD climbing 6% and then tumbling 12%</a> on its first day out.</li></ul><p><strong>And the pandemic continues to upend the best laid plans for tech companies to bring their workers back to the office. </strong></p><ul><li><strong><keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> and <keyword id="6355629" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="google">Google</keyword></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-google-netflix-tech-companies-require-vaccines-employees-office-return-2021-7"><strong> </strong>announced they will require employees to be vaccinated</a> if they want to work at the office.</li><li><strong>Uber,</strong> meanwhile, experienced the new challenges first-hand after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-board-meeting-attendee-tests-positive-covid-19-infects-others-2021-7">a person who attended a recent board meeting at its San Francisco headquarters tested positive for Covid</a> and later infected several other employees (all suffered only mild cases, thankfully).</li></ul><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tanium-wiz-lawsuit-court-texts-hindawi-cybersecurity-2021-7">Tanium's Tech Bro Trial</a></h2><p>Cybersecurity company Tanium is in a bitter legal fight with another security startup called Wiz, which poached four of Tanium's top sales employees. Among the many interesting tidibits revealed in the case are text messages among the departing Tanium employees on their way out.</p><p><strong>Employee 1:</strong> He asked if any other reps were leaving...I said I don't know...going to be awkward when 4 guys leave for Wiz lol</p><p><strong>Employee 2: </strong>Hahaha  oh yes it is.</p><p>--------</p><p><strong>Employee 2:</strong> I wonder who else is going to leave that we don't know about</p><p><strong>Employee 1:</strong> Bro who would stay??</p><h3>Read the full story here:</h3><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tanium-wiz-lawsuit-court-texts-hindawi-cybersecurity-2021-7">Texts from former Tanium employees surface as the $9 billion startup sues them and the firm that poached them.</a></h3><h2>From the curious file:</h2><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tunnels-boring-company-tesla-drivers-las-vegas-techcrunch-2021-7"><div type="image" title="Elon Musk" height="2007" width="2505" msid="84922725" hostid="261"></div></a></p><ul><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tunnels-boring-company-tesla-drivers-las-vegas-techcrunch-2021-7">Rules for talking about Elon Musk:</a></strong> A training manual for drivers piloting Teslas in Musk's Las Vegas tunnel provides instructions on how to answer passengers' questions about the boss. "Be as brief as possible and do your best to shut down such conversation." If a rider persists? Simple, reads the script:  "Yup, he's a great leader. He motivates us to do great work!" </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hydrofoiling-board-larry-page-mark-zuckerberg-watersport-google-facebook-2021-7"><strong>The sport of kings:</strong> </a>It may not be an Olympic sport yet, but hydrofoiling is all the rage among tech moguls, from Larry Page to Mark Zuckerberg. If you want to be like Zuck, hop on board (and don't forget to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-sunscreen-surfing-photo-hide-from-paparazzi-facebook2021-4">lather on the sunscreen</a>).</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steak-umm-twitter-facebook-misinformation-media-literacy-science-public-2021-7">Thus spoke Steak-umm:</a> </strong>You know the world is in a bad place when Steak-umm, the maker of frozen, sliced sandwich meat, is the voice of reason. And yet there's something heartening in seeing the frozen aisle-fixture fulminate on the front lines of Twitter against the dangers of conspiracy theories and misinformation.<br /><br />To quote the packaged meat sage, it's imperative that we find "some semblance of mutually agreed upon information before we splinter into irreconcilable realities."</li></ul><h2>The Big Read</h2><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-workers-nda-culture-silence-2021-7">How Silicon Valley turned employment agreements into 'gag orders for life'</a></h3><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-workers-nda-culture-silence-2021-7"><div type="image" title="Anonymous woman with a NDA-labeled duct tape over her mouth with Google, Apple, Pinterest, and Riot Games logos behind her on a red to black gradient background" height="1726" width="2300" msid="84922727" hostid="261"></div></a></p><p>If you work in tech, chances are you've signed a nondisclosure agreement. Maybe you've signed a non-disparagement agreement, as well. But do you know whether your agreement is likely legally enforceable? Or how it compares to your friends'?</p><p>To understand how these agreements became the foundation of Silicon Valley's vaunted culture of secrecy, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-workers-nda-culture-silence-2021-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insider reviewed 36 NDA's from tech workers</a>, ranging from multi-billion dollar publicly traded firms that are household names to small <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="startups">startups</keyword>. The result is the most comprehensive portrait yet of the scope and legality of NDAs, a subject of intense debate in the wake of the #MeToo movement and amid recent <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Silicon-Valley-likes-to-use-NDAs-A-California-15934275.php">proposed legislative changes in employment law. </a></p><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-workers-nda-culture-silence-2021-7">Click here to read the full story</a></h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/read-nda-show-how-facebook-google-apple-enforce-worker-silence-2021-7">And if you really want to geek out, check out the actual NDAs Insider got ahold of</a></li></ul><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-building-metaverse-billionaire-space-raice-2021-7">Quote of the week:</a></h3><div type="image" title="mark zuckerberg" height="1349" width="1800" msid="84922730" hostid="261"></div><h3><em>"Within the metaverse, you can build a hang out, play games with friends, work, create and more. You're basically going to be able to do everything that you can on the Internet today, as well as some things that don't make sense on the Internet today like dancing."</em></h3><p><strong>- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg,</strong> during Facebook's Q2 earnings call, discusses his plan for Facebook to evolve <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-building-metaverse-billionaire-space-raice-2021-7"> from being a social media company to a "metaverse" company. </a></p><h3>Recommended readings:</h3><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cisco-permanent-remote-work-for-all-workers-productivity-cost-savings-2021-7">Here's how Cisco decided that none of its 75,000 employees ever have to return to the office</a></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ends-deal-workday-hr-software-partnership-2021-7">Exclusive: Amazon's companywide deal to use Workday's HR software ended after about 3 years. Workday shares slump.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-facebook-misinformation-moonshot-pitch-deck-7m-2021-7">This startup works with Facebook and Google to steer internet users away from misinformation. Get an exclusive look at the pitch deck it used to land $7 million from VCs.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-repair-workers-sweatshop-csat-solutions-2021-7">Your Apple laptop is probably repaired at a facility workers say is a 'sweatshop'</a></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pet-dna-startup-embark-softbank-vc-masayoshi-son-vc-seriesb">How SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son's dog helped two brothers fetch $75 million for their pet DNA startup</a></p><h3>Not necessarily in tech:</h3><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millenial-campaign-operatives-shaping-the-future-of-us-democratic-politics-2021-7">These 20 millennial Democratic campaign operatives are reshaping politics in the US</a></p><p>Thanks for reading, and if you like this newsletter,<strong> <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/insider-tech">tell your friends and colleagues they can sign up here to receive it</a>.</strong></p><p>- Alexei</p>

Texting tech bros and the danger of earnings blowouts

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/kim-kardashian">Kim Kardashian West</a> sparked conversation and confusion with a cryptic tweet that indicated she had a "serious complaint" after visiting fast-food chain <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/jack-in-the-box">Jack in the Box</a>.&#xa0;</li><li>Chains including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/burger-king">Burger King</a>, Wendy's, and Hooters are roasting Jack in the Box on Twitter in the aftermath of Kardashian West's tweet.&#xa0;</li><li>Kardashian West is a noted lover of fast food, reportedly receiving Burger King franchise rights as a wedding gift and once being gifted a Givenchy wallet from McDonald's.&#xa0;</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>Jack in the Box is being publicly shamed by fast-food rivals following a cryptic tweet from Kim Kardashian West.&#xa0;</p><p>"Hey, Jack In The Box I have a serious complaint but I won't fully put you on blast, check your corporate email inbox or send me a DM with direct person for my team to contact. Pronto!" Kardashian West tweeted on Monday afternoon.&#xa0;</p><p>Jack in the Box responded: "Hi Kim, we are unable to DM you. Please send us a DM with how we can get in touch with your team &amp; someone will reach out immediately."</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p>It is unclear what exactly the "serious complaint" is. Kardashian West <a href="https://twitter.com/KimKardashian/status/1130542545354674176">clarified</a> on Twitter that the complaint is "not about me or a wrong order. Nobody recognized me and it's something that I observed that affected other customers at this particular location that was concerning."</p><p>However, beyond that, both Kardashian West and Jack in the Box have kept quiet. Jack in the Box did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.&#xa0;</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-kim-kardashian-charges-for-instagram-endorsement-deals-2019-5"> Kim Kardashian revealed in a lawsuit that she demands up to half a million dollars for a single Instagram post and other details about how much she charges for endorsement deals</a></em></p><p>The lack of clarity has not kept Jack in the Box's fast-food rivals from jumping on the opportunity to mock the chain on Twitter.&#xa0;</p><p>The brands weren't the only people fascinated by Kardashian West's mysterious complaint.&#xa0;</p><p>Steak-Umm, which has developed one of the most bizarre social media strategies in the food industry, tweeted another question on many people's minds: "kim why are you going to jack in the box lol."&#xa0;</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p>Kardashian West and her husband, the rapper Kanye West, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kanye-west-loves-mcdonalds-fast-food-2018-11">have a well-documented love of fast food.</a></p><p>When the couple wed in 2014, West<span>&#xa0;</span><a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232437">reportedly bought his bride the rights to open 10 Burger King franchises</a><span>&#xa0;</span>located throughout Europe - though no locations were ultimately opened in the Kardashian West name. And, in <span>2016, McDonald's sent</span> <a href="https://www.bustle.com/articles/174364-mcdonalds-gave-kim-kardashian-a-givenchy-wallet-so-can-we-get-in-on-the-love">Kim gift cards and a<span>&#xa0;</span></a><a href="https://www.bustle.com/articles/174364-mcdonalds-gave-kim-kardashian-a-givenchy-wallet-so-can-we-get-in-on-the-love">Givenchy wallet</a><span> after the celebrity wrote a blog post about her favorite fast-food menu items.</span></p><p><em>If you have any information on Kim Kardashian West's serious Jack in the Box complaint, email ktaylor@businessinsider.com.&#xa0;</em></p><p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/stories-slide-deck?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=socialmedia&amp;itm_campaign=stories-slide-deck"></a></p><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/benihana-founder-rocky-aoki-japanese-cuisine-teppanyaki-america-2019-5">How Benihana's founder catered Japanese cuisine to Americans and made a multimillion-dollar restaurant chain</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Burger King and Wendy's slam Jack in the Box after Kim Kardashian tweets a mysterious complaint about the burger chain

<ul class="summary-list"><li>On November 18, Utah state officials found the first <keyword id="6622660" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Monolith">monolith</keyword> in the desert in the southeastern part of the state.</li><li>Since then, similar metallic sculptures have been discovered in Romania, California, Pennsylvania, and the Netherlands.</li><li>Here's how people and brands have taken to <keyword id="6354632" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="social-media">social media</keyword> to poke fun at the mysterious structures — and potentially attempt to make sense of them — in the form of <keyword id="1605152" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Memes">memes</keyword>.</li></ul><p>Since November, people have been stumbling upon inexplicable metallic <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/monolith">monoliths</a> in locations around the world.</p><p>On November 18, <a href="https://www.insider.com/monolith-timeline-appearances-disappearances-californai-utah-romania-2020-12">Utah state officials found the first monolith</a> in the desert in the southeastern part of the state. On November 27, the Utah monolith vanished, and another structure appeared in the <a href="https://www.insider.com/second-monolith-like-utah-one-discovered-romania-puzzling-2020-12">Romanian countryside</a>. On December 2, a monolith <a href="https://www.insider.com/third-monolith-found-california-matches-utah-romania-2020-12">appeared on a mountain in California</a>, one day after <a href="https://www.insider.com/metal-monolith-romania-has-disappeared-like-twin-utah-2020-12">the Romanian metal structure disappeared.</a></p><p>On December 3, <a href="https://www.insider.com/metallic-monolith-candy-shop-pittsburgh-pennsylvania-2020-12">a fourth monolith appeared outside of a candy shop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania</a>, but the purpose of this structure was a marketing tactic by the business owner, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-monolith-idUSKBN28E2XT?taid=5fcac1d66938f6000196e998&amp;utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&amp;utm_medium=trueAnthem&amp;utm_source=twitterurce=twitter">Reuters</a>.</p><p>On Sunday, another monolith seemed to be discovered <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-netherlands-mysterious-monolith-appears-in-dutch-nature-reserve-2020-12">in the Netherlands</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/monolith-art-meaning-history-reveal-hidden-meaning-viral-objects-2020-12">Whether the structures are forms of art</a> or part of a campaign that has yet to be announced, they continue to perplex onlookers. The confusing nature of the <keyword id="6673335" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="monoliths">monoliths</keyword> has made for ripe meme-making conditions, and as a result, many people and brands have attempted to make light - and make sense - of the mysterious structures with posts on social media.</p><p>For example, users on Twitter are incorporating pictures of the metal monoliths into pop <keyword id="24504" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="culture">culture</keyword> moments, <a href="https://www.insider.com/wildest-celebrity-moments-met-gala-2018-4">such as the Met Gala</a>.</p><p>Celebrity chef <a href="https://twitter.com/GuyFieri/status/1333842938451947520">Guy Fieri</a> joined in on the monolith meme-making trend, weaving in his signature Flavortown brand and saying with a picture of a fork-shaped structure in the middle of the Utah desert.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/TEDTalks/status/1333881599843323904">TED Talks</a> imagined a monolith giving a motivational talk onstage.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/SpongeBob/status/1334542374471655425">The official "SpongeBob Squarepants" Nickelodeon TV show account</a> on Twitter sparked a trend by referencing an episode from the cartoon series where the sea creature gets acquainted with a rectangular block of marble, which he later carves into a sculpture.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/timquirino/status/1333557079135567874">A designer at Facebook</a> added circular, social media-inspired graphics to a picture of the reflective structure that was found in Utah and joked: "BREAKING: Monolith Inexplicably Returns... With Stories."<a href="https://twitter.com/timquirino/status/1333557079135567874/photo/1"></a></p><p>As Business Insider's Mary Meisenzahl reported, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brands-joke-about-utah-monolith-2020-11">several brands, including Southwest Airlines, MoonPie, and Steak-umm, have turned the monoliths into social-media posts</a> with their companies in mind.</p><p>For example, <a href="https://twitter.com/SouthwestAir/status/1333162382537990145">Southwest's monolith meme, which was created by Twitter user @Iotapup</a>, was made to look like one of the airline's boarding signs that appear at airport gates.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/OceanSprayInc/status/1334956147401515009">Ocean Spray</a> edited a photo of one of the metal structures into a cranberry harvest.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/McDonalds/status/1333828686584324096">McDonald's</a> also got in on the joke, revamping the sculpture that later disappeared from a Utah desert into what looks like one of the fast-food chain's drive-through ordering screens.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/Walmart/status/1333831674094882817">Walmart</a> joined the conversation by comparing the mysterious sculpture to a wall mirror it sells in its stores.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/monolith-timeline-appearances-disappearances-californai-utah-romania-2020-12">A timeline of all of the monolith appearances and disappearances around the world</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/monoliths-california-utah-travel-tourists-what-it-was-like-2020-12">Tourists raced to see the mysterious monoliths that appeared in the Utah and California desert moments before they disappeared</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/monolith-art-meaning-history-reveal-hidden-meaning-viral-objects-2020-12">The hidden meaning in the mysterious monoliths appearing and disappearing around the world</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/tiktok-memes-trends-challenges-ranking-list-2020-12">TikTok says these were the top 10 memes, trends, and challenges of 2020</a></li></ul>

The best memes about the mysterious metal monoliths that are perplexing people around the world

<p>Hello, happy Friday!</p><p>Have you ever wondered what Drake smells like? While I personally can't say I have (no shade to Drake, I enjoy his music even if he will always be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f8ol_fm7-o">Jimmy from "Degrassi"</a> in my heart), you can now <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drake-scented-candle-smells-like-him-revolve-sold-out-2020-12">buy an $80 candle</a> that smells just like the rapper. The already sold-out candle, called "Carby Musk," is named after perfumer Michael Carby who developed Drake's signature scent. </p><p>Though I'm partial to Bath &amp; Body Works candles myself, specifically the lavender vanilla scent, I support any and all comfort purchases in these trying times. But I digress! Thank you for reading the latest edition of <keyword id="9923880" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="insider-retail">Insider Retail</keyword>, our weekly roundup of everything you need to know in the world of <keyword id="6354851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="retail">retail</keyword> and restaurants. </p><p>If you haven't already subscribed, <a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/click/19921095.876/aHR0cDovL25ld3NsZXR0ZXIuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9qb2luLzRucC9kcml2ZXRocnU_bnJfZW1haWxfcmVmZXJlcj0xJnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9U2FpbHRocnUmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1Ecml2ZVRocnU/5c818d302ddf9c27c19a8b1aB1c4ef4a7">click here</a> to get me, Bethany Biron, and my colleague, Shoshy Ciment, in your inbox every Friday. </p><p>Here's what happened this week:</p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nrf-black-friday-isnt-dead-next-year-could-be-biggest-ever-2020-12">Turns out, Black Friday isn't dead after all</a></h2><div type="image" title="macy's black friday 2020" height="1665" width="2220" msid="79574737" hostid="261"></div><p>Though retail experts have long hypothesized the imminent death of Black Friday, this year proved that even a pandemic can't stop Americans from finding a deal.</p><p>While foot traffic on Black Friday was down compared to 2019, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nrf-black-friday-isnt-dead-next-year-could-be-biggest-ever-2020-12">record numbers of online shoppers</a> took advantage of the annual retail holiday. According to the National Retail Federation, more than 100 million people made online purchases on Black Friday, and the percentage of orders made over the weekend increased by 44% over last year.</p><p>For Amazon, in particular, 2020 marked the e-commerce giant's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-holiday-2020-biggest-ever-shopping-period-bestsellers-2020-12">most successful holiday shopping season yet</a>. The company reported that sales in the period spanning Black Friday to Cyber Monday increased by a whopping 60%, hitting a total of $4.8 billion. Looking ahead, analysts say that Black Friday <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nrf-black-friday-isnt-dead-next-year-could-be-biggest-ever-2020-12">next year may shatter more records</a>, as Americans look to shop at physical stores en masse. </p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-mcrib-returns-december-2-national-rollout-2020-11">McDonald's brings back the McRib while indefinitely nixing salads</a></h2><div type="image" title="mcrib 2010" height="1666" width="2223" msid="79574710" hostid="261"></div><p>It was a big week for fans of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-mcrib-review-taste-test-2020-12">McDonald's divisive McRib</a> sandwich, which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-mcrib-returns-december-2-national-rollout-2020-11">returned to menus nationally</a> for the first time since 2012. The McRib has reached cult-classic status in the four decades since its official debut. But the sandwich has a reputation for being a difficult menu item for diners to get their hands on. In recent years, the McRib has returned to some, but not all, McDonald's locations for limited periods of time. </p><p>"In a year as challenging as this year has been, to throw a little McRib out there to those that really want to have it, it feels like something that would be a pretty nice gesture," Alan Klein, a McRib super fan and founder of the McRib tracker website, told Business Insider's Kate Taylor this week. </p><p>As McRib enthusiasts rejoiced, the (albeit few) McDonald's salad fans have been less pleased. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-salads-disappeared-from-menu-april-2020-2020-12">Salads vanished from restaurants</a> in March, part of a national menu simplification strategy that also involved cutting McDonald's popular all-day breakfast. Though the company declined to comment on whether salads will ever make a return, their sudden disappearance has caused some to take to social media to bemoan the loss. </p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arcadia-group-administration-topshop-philip-green-covid-19-2020-12">Arcadia Group becomes the latest pandemic victim, leaving 13,000 jobs in the balance</a></h2><div type="image" title="Topshop" height="2668" width="3557" msid="79574815" hostid="261"></div><p>Arcadia Group - parent company of fashion brands like Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, and Miss Selfridge - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arcadia-group-administration-topshop-philip-green-covid-19-2020-12">collapsed into administration</a> on Monday, announcing it will immediately close 500 stores.</p><p>The move marks Arcadia as the latest victim of the pandemic, which has been particularly unforgiving to the apparel sector, and the largest corporate casualty in the UK. Consulting firm Deloitte will serve as the company's administrator, with plans to find buyers for the group's brands that also include Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Evans, Burton, and Outfit.</p><p>"In the face of the most difficult trading conditions we have ever experienced, the obstacles we encountered were far too severe," Ian Grabinr, CEO of Arcadia Group, said in a statement.</p><h2>Everything else you need to know: </h2><div type="image" title="monolith, UFO, Utah" height="799" width="1066" msid="79574817" hostid="261"></div><ul><li>Brands like Southwest, MoonPie, and Steak-umm can't stop making <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brands-joke-about-utah-monolith-2020-11">jokes on Twitter</a> about the mysterious Utah monolith.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ups-tells-drivers-stop-picking-up-packages-macys-nike-gap-2020-12">UPS tells drivers</a> to temporarily stop picking up packages from large retailers, including Macy's, Gap, and L.L. Bean because of overwhelming shipping demand. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sephora-opening-850-mini-stores-in-kohls-locations-by-2023-2020-12">Sephora is opening</a> 850 mini stores at Kohl's locations over the next two years.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/9-executives-leading-the-worlds-largest-pet-care-brands-2020-12">These nine executives</a> are leading the rapidly growing $100 billion pet care industry.</li><li>The CEO of Peloton competitor Echelon shares how the company <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/echelon-fitness-increased-sales-700-percent-competing-with-peloton-2020-12">increased sales by 700%</a> during the pandemic.</li><li>Walmart is giving store employees a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-sams-club-giving-frontline-workers-holiday-bonus-extending-leave-2020-12">$300 bonus</a> while extending its coronavirus leave policy.   </li><li>Meanwhile, Whole Foods employees are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whole-foods-workers-scared-stressed-holidays-pandemic-worsening-2020-11">speaking out</a> about their fears of working during the holiday season as COVID cases spike. </li></ul>

Insider Retail: Black Friday is not dead after all, the McRib makes a triumphant return, and Arcadia Group becomes latest pandemic victim

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>A baffling <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/subway">Subway</a> ad went viral on Thursday.&#xa0;</li><li>The strangely intense commercial shows a child at the moment of his birth, major milestones as he grows up, and ends with him as a young man at a Subway shop.&#xa0;</li><li>The ad is real and was released by Subway in Brazil in 2016.&#xa0;</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>A baffling Subway commercial is going viral three years after it was created.&#xa0;</p><p>On Thursday, <a href="https://twitter.com/rysimmons">Ryan Simmons,</a> a video director for SB Nation, posted a tweet with a video of a startlingly epic commercial.</p><p>"got another capitalism greatest hit. i will give you one hundred thousand dollars if you can guess the brand by the end," Simmons tweeted.&#xa0;</p><p>The ad starts with the birth of a child, then follows him as he grows up. Viewers see the boy climbing trees, shaving for the first time, fighting with his parents, and other major life milestones.&#xa0;</p><p>The ad comes to a close as the young man - who we have seen grow up over the course of two minutes - walk into a Subway sandwich shop.</p><p>"Everyday, life asks the same question: What are you going to try today?" the voiceover says.&#xa0;</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-chick-fil-a-taco-bell-fast-food-franchise-costs-2019-5">What it costs to open 12 of the biggest fast-food chains in the US, including McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, and Taco Bell</a></em></p><p>The commercial is, in fact, a real ad for Subway. Writer and Steak-umm social media manager Nathan Allebach <a href="https://twitter.com/nathanallebach/status/1144308068177653761">tweeted a link to the original commercial on YouTube,</a> which the sandwich chain's Brazilian arm debuted in 2016.&#xa0;</p><p>Three years later, the ad is experiencing a second life on Twitter, as people marvel at the over-the-top commercial.&#xa0;</p><p>Subway did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on what it thinks about the commercial's renaissance, but we will update this article if we hear anything.&#xa0;</p><h2>Watch the full video from Subway Brasil's YouTube page here:&#xa0;</h2><p>&#xa0;</p><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>

A baffling ad that follows a man from the moment of his birth is suddenly going viral three years later - and you'll never guess what it's for

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An extreme-sports YouTuber claimed responsibility for removing the mysterious monolith in <keyword id="130981" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Utah">Utah</keyword> a little over a week after state wildlife workers first spotted it in a remote area.</li><li>Andy Lewis posted a video that he said showed him and friends taking apart the structure under cover of darkness on Friday night and wheeling the pieces out of the desert in a wheelbarrow.</li><li>His story seems to line up with that of Ross Bernards, a photographer who said he was taking pictures of the monolith on Friday night when he saw a group of four men take the monolith away.</li><li>In a statement, Lewis and a friend said they took down the monolith because visitors were ruining the landscape trying to get to it.</li></ul><p>An extreme-sports YouTuber claimed responsibility for removing the mysterious monolith in <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/utah">Utah</a>.</p><p>Andy Lewis, best known for his BASE jumping and slacklining skills, on Tuesday <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6c2EhNtSj4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted a 23-second clip</a> that he said showed his "team" dismantling the monolith and removing the pieces from the Utah desert. The faces of the people in the video were blurred.</p><p>In a <a href="https://gritdaily.com/utah-monolith-removed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement to Grit Daily News</a> on Tuesday, Lewis and Sylvan Christensen said they removed the monolith on Friday night because visitors were ruining the natural landscape trying to get to it.</p><p>"We want to make clear that we support art and artists, but legality and ethics have defined standards — especially here in the desert," they said.</p><p>"This land wasn't physically prepared for the population shift (especially during a pandemic). People arrived by car, by bus, by van, helicopter, planes, trains, motorcycles and E-bikes and there isn't even a parking lot," they said.</p><p>"There aren't bathrooms — and yes, pooping in the desert is a misdemeanor. There was a lot of that."</p><h2>A photographer says he witnessed the monolith's removal</h2><p>Lewis' account lines up with that of Ross Bernards, a photographer from Colorado who said he saw four men removing the monolith on Friday night.</p><p>In an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CIOOkwMBkAS/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram post</a> on Monday, Bernards said he and three friends visited the monolith on Friday to take pictures of it in the moonlight.</p><p>One of the photos that Bernards posted — the fifth photo in the gallery above — and that Bernards' friend Michael James Newlands <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/12/01/moabs-mr-slackline-claims/">provided to The Salt Lake Tribune</a> was identical to the one Lewis featured in his YouTube video.</p><p>Bernards said that about two hours after his group arrived at the monolith, four men approached it and tried to push it over. He said one of them remarked, "This is why you don't leave trash in the desert."</p><p>Bernards said that the monolith eventually "popped out and landed on the ground with a loud bang" and that the four men "quickly broke it apart," putting the parts into a wheelbarrow.</p><p>He said that as the group left, one of the men looked back and said, "Leave no trace."</p><p>Bernards said he believed the men "were right to take it out," adding that as his group was leaving the next morning, people continued to stream into the desert looking for the monolith.</p><p>"We stayed the night and the next day hiked to a hill top overlooking the area where we saw at least 70 different cars (and a plane) in and out. Cars parking everywhere in the delicate desert landscape. Nobody following a path or each other. We could literally see people trying to approach it from every direction to try and reach it, permanently altering the untouched landscape," he wrote.</p><p>"Mother Nature is an artist, it's best to leave the art in the wild to her."</p><div type="image" title="monolith, UFO, Utah" height="799" width="1066" msid="79531363" hostid="261"></div><p>Several people who commented on Bernards' post accused the photographer of judging the visitors when he had hiked out to see the monolith too.</p><p>Bernards later told The Tribune that the people who removed the monolith got in touch with him on Tuesday and that after talking with them he was convinced they were trying to save the landscape. He declined to name the people he spoke with.</p><h2>The monolith's appearance is still a mystery</h2><p>Following the monolith's disappearance on Friday, the San Juan County Sheriff's Office <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sjcoso/photos/a.608232172580652/4910699145667245/?type=3&amp;theaterater" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a Facebook post</a> that its officers "do not have the proper resources to devote much time to the appearance and subsequent disappearance/theft of the structure."</p><p>The office poked fun at the monolith's mysterious origins by posting photos of alien faces. "If you recognize anyone from the lineup provided as being in the area of the strange structure on the night of November 27th, please let us know," the post said.</p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sjcoso/posts/4910701122333714">Post</a> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/">San Juan County Sheriffs Office</a>.<p>A Bureau of Land Management official told The Tribune that the agency was not investigating the monolith's removal but was trying to find the law-breaker who put it up.</p><p>It's still unclear who put up the monolith, which Google Earth images indicate was <a href="https://www.insider.com/metal-monolith-romania-has-disappeared-like-twin-utah-2020-12">erected sometime between August 2015 and October 2016</a>.</p><div type="image" title="monolith google earth" height="475" width="1430" msid="79531364" hostid="261"></div><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/arts/design/utah-monolith-removed-instagram.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times reported</a> that there was speculation that the artist John McCracken, who died in 2011, might have been responsible.</p><p>David Zwirner, the art dealer who represents McCracken's estate, initially said he thought the monolith was one of McCracken's works. But he told The Times on Monday that after studying photos of the structure, he no longer believed McCracken was responsible.</p><p>The monolith became a sensation on November 18 after state wildlife workers spotted it from a helicopter while counting bighorn sheep in the area.</p><p>The workers landed to see the monolith up close, and the Utah Department of Public Safety <a href="https://dpsnews.utah.gov/dps-aero-bureau-encounters-monolith-in-red-rock-country/">posted pictures</a> from the visit.</p><p>The department did not reveal the location, saying only that it was in a very remote area where visitors would risk becoming stranded and requiring rescue.</p><p>Soon after, though, the monolith's coordinates were shared online, prompting hundreds of people to visit the site over the course of a week.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/metal-monolith-romania-has-disappeared-like-twin-utah-2020-12">A 2nd metal monolith that popped up in Romania 4 days ago has also mysteriously disappeared</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brands-joke-about-utah-monolith-2020-11">The mysterious Utah monolith disappeared, and brands like Southwest, MoonPie, and Steak-umm are making it all about themselves on Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/second-monolith-like-utah-one-discovered-romania-puzzling-2020-12">A mysterious metal monolith was found in Romania on the same day a similar one vanished in Utah</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/utah-helicopter-patrol-found-mysterious-metal-obelisk-in-the-desert-2020-11">The metal monolith recently documented in the Utah desert has been there since 2016</a></li></ul>

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