In the wake of Tuesday’s election results, some women frustrated by President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House are using a centuries-old metaphor about women poisoning their husbands to channel their disappointment, causing a stir online.

The “Make Aqua Tofana Great Again,” or MATGA, movement is a recent online trend in which some women humorously advocate for “reviving” Aqua Tofana—a 17th-century poison used by women to kill and escape their abusive husbands.

Aqua Tofana, named after its alleged creator Giulia Tofana, was a deadly, undetectable poison used across Italy, gaining notoriety for its stealth and potency.

The MATGA trend has become synonymous with Tofana, seemingly emerging as a satirical expression of frustration over certain political issues, mainly targeting Trump and men who support conservative policies that affect women.

In a video posted on Grabien, women embracing the trend appear with captions such as: “Sure, my body, your choice,” before pouring unknown liquids into drinks.

This is juxtaposed with medieval images of women pouring potions, while the captions tell the story of Tofana who was “responsible for the deaths of over 600 abusive husbands in 17th-century Italy.”

One woman in the video leans toward the camera and whispers: “Aqua Tofana, am I right? Aqua Tofana. If you know, you know.”

One user on X (formerly Twitter) shared the video, referring to the 4B movement which saw a surge after Trump’s win: “First, Karens on TikTok and Instagram kicked off the 4B movement, refusing to marry, have children, date, or have relationships with men.

“They started wearing blue bracelets and getting blue heart tattoos to recognize each other in public as [Kamala] Harris voters, and this soon evolved into the MATGA movement. W***?!! The first video got over 1.3 million LIKES!!”

In response to the post, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene raised an alarm to the FBI, tagging the agency in her post and calling for an investigation into the “public death threats.”

“@FBI these are public death threats and must [be] investigated!” Greene wrote. “These women are telling others how to poison and murder men because they are angry over the election. If you tracked down J6’ers [January 6 rioters], pro-lifers, parents angry at school boards, then you better go after these psychopaths!”

In an emailed statement to Newsweek on Monday, a spokesperson for the FBI said: “The FBI investigates federal crimes and threats to the national security. We will never open an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity.

“As always, we encourage members of the public to report threats of physical violence to local law enforcement. Tips or complaints relating to federal crimes and threats to the national security can be submitted to the FBI at 1-800-CALL FBI, or online at tips.fbi.gov.”

Newsweek reached out to Greene via email on Monday outside of working hours for comment.

It is not the first time activists have used dark humor or historical references to convey social commentary, discontent, or resistance. Some see movements such as this as a way to reclaim symbols of autonomy from an era when women had few options to assert themselves.

In an emailed statement to Newsweek on Friday, Alasia Nuti from the University of York in the U.K. who researches and teaches on gender and sexuality, said:

“I think that the MATGA movement is urging women to stand up against sexism and misogyny in a satirical and certainly provocative way.

“Instead of condemning MATGA, we should be outraged by what members of MATGA (and their heroine Giulia Tofana before them in 17th-century Italy) are fighting against: continuous attacks on women’s freedom.”

Though initially tongue-in-cheek, the movement has continued to gain traction on social media, where women are using the Aqua Tofana reference as a rallying cry.

One woman posted a video on TikTok about MATGA in which she said: “Good morning, just a couple of quick thoughts on MATGA. You ladies are incorrigible and I appreciate you hanging on to your sense of humor. We’re gonna need it right now, because if you don’t laugh you cry.”

The woman then hinted at MATGA merchandise saying: “I’m going to need a black shirt with an Italian flag that says MATGA because we know what that means.

“But if anybody asks me I’m gonna say ‘oh, I’m Italian-American, that’s an old Italian tradition developed in Sicily by women that aspire to wear black for the rest of their lives. Just keep laughing, have a great weekend.”

The video was then shared on X by an account that opposed the sentiments in the video and tagged the FBI in their post.

“MATGA = Make aqua tofana Great Again. In case you don’t know: Aqua Tofana was a powerful poison created in Sicily around 1630 that was said to be used throughout Italy,” the user posted on X next to the video.

“It is associated with Giulia Tofana, a woman from Palermo who was said to lead a group of poisoners in Rome,” they added, before tagging the FBI in their post. “Now that they didn’t get their way, [they] mean to kill us. How Democratic of them @FBI.”

Other users also tagged the FBI in their comments below the post.

Whilst some are offended by the movement, many see the reference to the poison not as a literal call to violence but as a symbolic protest against perceived misogyny, and, for many, the disenfranchisement of women’s voices in modern politics or society.

In numerous posts and MATGA hashtags, the movement’s supporters emphasize that their aim is not to glorify actual violence but to initiate discussion around women’s autonomy, safety, and rights in a climate that some feel continues to marginalize them.

Although MATGA does not appear to be a real movement advocating harm, searches for MATGA and Giulia Tofana have since gone up online.

Update 11/11/2024 11:57 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from the FBI.

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