Did Angry Birds Help Tackle Political Corruption in India?

India’s decision to take tough steps against political dishonesty may have had a little help from a flying, angry bird.

Angry Anna, a political riff on popular game Angry Birds, helped to spread the word about Indian activist Anna Hazare’s campaign to rid the country’s government of graft, CNN reports.

In free-to-play Angry Anna, players shoot disembodied heads of Hazare and activists Baba Ramdev and Kiran Bedi against a group of Indian politicians, playing the role of the game’s pigs.

The game was created by a New Dehli development company.

“We wanted to go to a candlelight march at (New Delhi landmark) India Gate but we were unable to because of the heavy work load in our office, so we thought, why not build a game so people can vent their frustration by sitting in an office and playing,” developer Mohammad Faisal told CNN. “We didn’t expect it to be so successful.”

The game has been played online about 267,000 times, according to game host GameSalad.

It’s an interesting look at how the popularity of a widely played, and known, game can be usurped to help further a political message.

‘Angry Birds’ adapted for political satire

You can contact Brian Crecente, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.