A disturbing trend has emerged online, with women posting darkly humorous murder-fantasy videos in response to fears about abortion rights under a second Trump presidency.
These videos, gaining millions of views on platforms like X and TikTok, show young women smirking as they pretend to lace a drink with a mysterious substance, symbolizing a "poisonous" protest.
Some participants have dubbed this trend the "Make Aqua Tofana Great Again" (MATGA) movement, a reference to both Trump’s MAGA slogan and to the infamous 17th-century poisoner Giulia Tofana.
Tofana, now cast as an unlikely heroine by these activists, was known for supplying her signature poison, "Aqua Tofana" — a deadly mixture of arsenic and belladonna — to women seeking escape from abusive marriages, resulting in the deaths of over 600 men.
While some of these women are symbolically embracing Tofana’s legacy by sharing poison-themed videos, others are engaging in other forms of protest. Some have shaved their heads, declared sex strikes, or committed to avoiding pregnancy altogether during a second Trump term, viewing these acts as resistance against what they fear could be impending restrictions on reproductive rights.
* The New York Post contributed to this article.
