The internet has never lacked bizarre forms of protest, but few have captured public attention quite like the recent viral videos showing crows swooping down to snatch red “Make America Great Again” hats. At first glance, the clips appeared too absurd to be real, prompting speculation that they were staged, digitally manipulated, or part of an elaborate hoax. Yet as the videos spread across platforms and mainstream media outlets began investigating their origins, a clearer and stranger reality emerged.
The crow attacks were not the result of artificial intelligence or clever editing, but the culmination of a months-long behavioral conditioning experiment carried out by a private individual documenting the process online. The story has since become a flashpoint for discussions about political activism, animal intelligence, ethics, and the increasingly unconventional ways protest manifests in the digital age.
Training Crows to Attack People Wearing MAGA Hats
The man behind the viral phenomenon is known publicly only as Dave, who posts under the handle @biz_dave on Threads, Meta’s social media platform. According to his detailed posts, the project began in late 2025 as an experiment in animal behavior rather than a ready-made political stunt. Dave described starting with a simple goal: encouraging local crows to reliably visit a specific feeding location.
This initial phase relied on consistency above all else. He placed food at the same spot daily, gradually building trust with the birds. Crows, which are known for their advanced cognitive abilities, pattern recognition, and long-term memory, began returning regularly after several months. Dave estimated that this foundational stage alone took approximately four months. Only once the crows consistently appeared did he move on to more complex conditioning. Using peanuts, mealworms, chicken scraps, and dog kibble as rewards, he introduced red objects resembling baseball caps.
Food was placed beneath or inside these objects, prompting the crows to flip or lift them to access the reward. Over time, the birds began associating red hats with food acquisition. Dave documented this progression through photographs, videos, and written explanations, creating a chronological record that later helped establish the project’s authenticity. The final stage involved moving from stationary objects to hats worn by people or placed on elevated surfaces.
Video: Deranged Leftist Trains Crows to Attack MAGA Hats – https://t.co/OBvIXFfpwn pic.twitter.com/D1HSJdqnVV
— Adan Salazar (@AdanSalazarWins) January 16, 2026
Within roughly three additional months, the crows began actively targeting red hats, swooping down and pulling them away with remarkable speed. In several videos, the entire sequence unfolded in under two minutes. Importantly, Dave maintained that the birds were never forced or punished, relying solely on positive reinforcement. Behavioral experts cited by media outlets noted that such training is well within the known capabilities of corvids, a bird family that includes crows and ravens and is widely regarded as one of the most intelligent in the animal kingdom.
Why the Story Sparked So Much Political and Cultural Reaction
The experiment might have remained a niche curiosity if not for the symbolism attached to the targeted object. MAGA hats have become one of the most recognizable political symbols in modern American history, representing former President Donald Trump and his political movement. For supporters, the hats signal loyalty and identity; for critics, they have come to embody divisive policies, inflammatory rhetoric, and cultural polarization.
By training crows to attack these hats, Dave inadvertently transformed an animal behavior experiment into a form of performative political protest. Dave himself acknowledged this shift. In one widely shared post, he explained that he had previously tried to remain politically centrist but no longer believed neutrality was morally defensible. That statement, combined with the imagery of birds acting against a political symbol, fueled both admiration and outrage.
Read : Who Is Megan Smith Who Enraged Neighbours After Building Pilates Studio in Her Grandfather’s Garden?
Supporters praised the creativity and humor of what some called an “anti-MAGA flying army,” while critics accused Dave of escalating political hostility and trivializing serious issues through spectacle. The viral nature of the content amplified these reactions. Clips circulated rapidly on Threads, X, Reddit, and TikTok, often stripped of their original context. This led some viewers to assume the videos were staged or generated using artificial intelligence, especially given the increasing prevalence of realistic AI-generated media.
However, investigations by outlets such as The Mirror, Daily Star, BuzzFeed, Yahoo News, and Economic Times confirmed that the posts originated from a single account with months of consistent documentation, making coordinated fakery highly unlikely. No credible evidence has surfaced suggesting the videos were manipulated, and experts on animal cognition affirmed that the behavior shown was plausible.
Ethical Questions and the Broader Implications of Using Wildlife for Protest
While the story’s authenticity has largely been settled, the ethical debate surrounding it remains unresolved. Critics argue that involving wild animals in human political conflicts is irresponsible, regardless of intent. Some expressed concern that the crows could be injured by startled humans reacting defensively, or that the birds might generalize their behavior and target people wearing non-political red hats.
Others likened the experiment to training animals for aggression, warning that unintended consequences could extend beyond the original scope of the project. Dave addressed some of these concerns directly, stating that he believed the risk of harm existed but was relatively low. He emphasized that the crows were free to come and go, were not deprived of food, and were not coerced into dangerous situations. Nevertheless, animal welfare advocates noted that wild animals do not consent in the way humans do, and that even positive reinforcement can alter natural behaviors in unpredictable ways.
The debate echoes broader ethical questions about human interaction with wildlife, particularly in urban environments where animals already face significant stressors. Beyond animal welfare, the incident highlights how political expression is evolving in the age of social media. Traditional forms of protest—marches, petitions, and speeches—now coexist with highly symbolic, viral acts designed for online consumption.
Training crows to target a political symbol sits at the extreme end of this spectrum, blending activism, performance art, and behavioral science. Whether viewed as clever satire or reckless provocation, the experiment underscores how digital platforms reward novelty and shock value, often accelerating fringe ideas into mainstream discourse.
The crow videos also reveal something about public trust in media. Initial skepticism was fueled not only by the implausibility of the scenario but by a growing awareness of AI-generated misinformation. That many viewers questioned whether real crows could do what the videos showed speaks to a broader erosion of confidence in visual evidence. Ironically, the meticulous, old-fashioned act of documenting a process step by step helped reestablish credibility in this case, contrasting sharply with the opaque nature of synthetic media.
In the end, the viral crow attacks are less about birds or hats than about the cultural moment that allowed such a story to resonate. They sit at the intersection of political polarization, technological anxiety, and the internet’s appetite for spectacle. Whether remembered as a clever act of protest, an ethical misstep, or simply one of the stranger footnotes of online history, the episode illustrates how easily unconventional actions can become symbols in a deeply divided society.
**mitolyn official**
Mitolyn is a carefully developed, plant-based formula created to help support metabolic efficiency and encourage healthy, lasting weight management.