On the May 27 edition of OAN’s Real America, host Dan Ball introduced Alison Steinberg as “one of our newest team members here at One America News.” Ball claimed Steinberg was hired by the network for her “independent reporting,” describing her as a “small-business owner who made national headlines for her quick-witted and defiant social media posts during all of the COVID lockdowns.”

Steinberg first surfaced in right-wing media circles via a video of her yelling at a Starbucks employee after they asked her to wear a legally mandated mask. In the since-deleted video that circulated the internet in 2021, Steinberg mocked the employee, saying, “He's probably calling for backup because I’m a terrorist. He must be so scared because I’m not wearing a mask.” Ball brought on Steinberg shortly after the video circulated to tell viewers that “we should not be complying with these outrageous mandates that don’t even make any sense.”

Between the time Steinberg went viral for complaining about masks and when OAN brought her on as a personality, she partook in “independent journalism” with Weberz Way, a poorly produced right-wing media website that seemingly struggles for views. 

Since joining OAN, Steinberg has already gained negative attention for her homophobia. In a live video that has since been removed from Instagram, Steinberg points to a Pride flag in Huntington Beach, California, and yells, “Now we’re peddling this garbage?” She also said that the only flag that should be flown is the American flag and not “this fucking bullshit," declaring, “This is a disgrace to our city and it should be taken down immediately. Whoever the hell is running this town needs to be fired. Make America great again. Make Huntington Beach great.”

 

Steinberg now records “daily rants” for OAN, spreading COVID misinformation and anti-LGBTQ commentary on social media

Steinberg has been brought on to record “Daily Rants” – short video clips dramatizing various culture war topics while sitting at the OAN news desk. 

• Steinberg celebrated Dr. Anthony Fauci’s COVID-19 diagnosis and lamented that he would likely recover. After Fauci was diagnosed with COVID-19 in June, the OAN Instagram account and Steinberg’s personal account together posted a video of Steinberg cheering Fauci’s diagnosis, saying, “Oh, what a glorious day it is. Have you heard the news? Double-vaxxed, double-boosted flip-flop Fauci reportedly has COVID.” Steinberg later noted, “There's a 99% recovery rate from COVID, so unfortunately we are going to see Fauci back on his feet in no time.” She concluded by asking viewers to comment and share the video to “continue to wake America up.” [Instagram, 6/16/22] 
• Steinberg also referred to the COVID vaccine for kids under five as “poison” and claimed that the only people benefiting from the vaccine were “fraudulent doctors,” pharmaceutical companies, and politicians. In the same OAN video, Steinberg said, “The FDA announced they will more than likely be authorizing the poison for babies as young as 6 months.” She continued: “The only people benefiting from this garbage are the makers of the product, the pharmaceutical companies, and all of the fraudulent doctors and politicians that continue to push it, when we have seen time and time again that it actually does more harm than good.” She later asked, “Why on Earth would a 6-month-old need a vaccine for a virus that doesn't even affect children?” The segment was riddled with false claims and anti-vaccine misinformation. [Instagram, 6/16/22]
• Steinberg mocked the president for wearing a “face diaper” and accused other people wearing masks of going along with “this charade.” In a rant mocking President Joe Biden's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Steinberg called Biden’s mask a “face diaper” and said the audience was “happily muzzled.” She said, “I honestly just can't believe people are still playing along with this charade, especially because I'm sure they all had to show proof of the juice just to get in the damn building.” [Instagram, 6/15/22]
• Steinberg attacked trans people, saying that “freshly chopped off body parts” are less censored than conservative views on social media. In a jointly posted Instagram video from Steinberg’s personal account and OAN’s account, Steinberg complained that right-wing views are being suppressed, saying, “What about conservatives who are attempting to participate in society? We get abused every single day, assuming we even get to participate.” She continued, “Unless you're posting some freshly chopped off body parts, twerking in underwear, or screeching about your obsession with murdering babies, it's pretty safe to say your account is getting censored or deleted.” [Instagram, 6/17/22]
• Defending anti-LGBT Twitter account “Libs of TikTok,” Steinberg promoted the smear that members of the LGBTQ community are “groomers” pushing their “agenda” on children. In an Instagram video with OAN branding, Steinberg said liberals should be “elated their message is getting out loud and clear” on Libs of Tik Tok and claimed: “They constantly deny they aren’t forcing their sick agenda upon children and get triggered when we call them ‘groomers.’ So if they’ve got nothing to hide, why are they so upset when we show their videos?” [Media Matters, 4/28/22; Instagram, 7/14/22]
• Steinberg interviewed known antisemite and homophobe Kyle Clifton, who complained that he was called out for a video claiming he would “hunt LGBT supporters.” In a jointly posted video from her personal account and OAN, Steinberg described Clifton as “an independent journalist based out of Arizona” and said that Patriot Takes, a Twitter account that reported on his threats against LGBTQ people, is full of people who are “preaching all of this hate and destroying the lives of innocent people who are just good, hard-working Americans.” [Los Angeles Blade, 5/21/22; Instagram, 7/12/22]

Steinberg routinely used social media to encourage harassment and manufacture outrage prior to joining OAN

After going viral for refusing to wear a mask in 2021, Steinberg made many attempts to become a right-wing social media influencer. Eventually she landed with Weberz Ways and began shooting ambush-style harassment clips targeting people wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, uploading her content to Banned.video, the streaming platform of Alex Jones’ Infowars conspiracy theory outlet.

• Steinberg posted “N00S3HIM” when talking about California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. In a post on a since-banned Instagram account, Steinberg complained about Newsom winning his recall election and blamed her neck pain on the stress she had over him staying in office. In screenshots of the video she writes “@gavinnewsom” and “N00S3HIM” and added middle finger emojis. [Twitter, 9/16/21; 9/16/21]
• Steinberg called people who work at Disney “pedophiles.” In an interview with a protester holding an “Alex Jones was right” sign, Steinberg yelled, “Fuck Joe Biden and all the pedophiles at Disney. You’re all going to rot in hell.” [Banned.video, 4/10/22]
• Steinberg harassed a man wearing a mask at an outdoor event and compared his mask to a “slave muzzle.” Steinberg approached a man wearing a mask at a public event and said, “Excuse me, sir. You can take off the mask. We're outside. Are you worried about COVID? Breathe the fresh air — COVID is over.” When the man responded that he was wearing the mask to protect himself, she responded, “The virus only has a 99.9% survival rate.” She ended the video by yelling: “Keep wearing those muzzles, guys, and this shit will never go away.” [Banned.video, 3/27/22]
• Steinberg called someone who asked her to wear a mask a “fucking 300-pound butterball" with “dirty fucking paws,” adding, “These people are so fucking retarded." In a video recalling the incident, Steinberg complained that “we are living in this pro-government dick-sucking society” and urged viewers to “start speaking out, otherwise this fucking tyranny, bullshit liberal insanity will continue on.” [Banned.video, 2/19/22]
• Steinberg doubled down after being called out for her fatphobic comments, writing in an Instagram post: “I have zero hesitation in stating that a woman’s size THIRTY is disturbing. I SAID WHAT I SAID. In no world is a size 30 healthy or acceptable.” [Instagram, 6/7/22]
• Steinberg accused a random masked person of defecating on the street: “Are you wearing a mask to contain your shit? You got shit spewing out of your mouth? Is that why you have a mask on?” After they explained they wore masks for health concerns, Alison then mocked their appearance: “You're so beautiful. I definitely want to take beauty advice from you. Looks like you're really healthy, too.” [Banned.video, 2/10/22]