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The protest movement may not be broadcast, yet it might possess webbed feet and bulging eyes.

Additionally, it could include the horn of a unicorn or a chicken's feathers.

While demonstrations against the leadership carry on in US cities, participants are adopting the energy of a local block party. They have taught salsa lessons, handed out treats, and performed on unicycles, while armed law enforcement observe.

Blending humour and politics – a tactic researchers call "tactical frivolity" – isn't novel. But it has become a defining feature of US demonstrations in recent years, adopted by various groups.

And one symbol has proven to be especially powerful – the frog. It began after video footage of an encounter between a protester in an inflatable frog and federal officers in the city of Portland, spread online. And it has since spread to protests throughout the United States.

"There's a lot at play with that little frog costume," notes a professor, who teaches at UC Davis and an academic who focuses on creative activism.

From Pepe to the Streets of Portland

It's challenging to discuss protests and frogs without addressing Pepe, an illustrated figure adopted by extremist movements during a political race.

When the character first took off online, its purpose was to convey specific feelings. Subsequently, it was utilized to endorse a political figure, including one notable meme retweeted by the candidate personally, depicting Pepe with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

The frog was also portrayed in right-wing online communities in darker contexts, as a historical dictator. Participants exchanged "rare Pepes" and established digital currency using its likeness. His catchphrase, "feels good, man", was deployed a shared phrase.

But its beginnings were not as a political symbol.

Matt Furie, artist Matt Furie, has been vocal about his distaste for its appropriation. Pepe was supposed to be simply a "chill frog-dude" in his series.

This character first appeared in a series of comics in the mid-2000s – apolitical and famous for a particular bathroom habit. A film, which chronicles the creator's attempt to take back of his work, he explained his drawing was inspired by his experiences with companions.

As he started out, Mr Furie tried uploading his work to the nascent social web, where people online began to copy, alter, and reinterpret his character. When the meme proliferated into the more extreme corners of the internet, the creator attempted to distance himself from the frog, even killing him off in a final panel.

However, its legacy continued.

"This demonstrates that creators cannot own symbols," states Prof Bogad. "Their meaning can evolve and be reworked."

Until recently, the association of Pepe resulted in amphibian imagery became a symbol for conservative politics. A transformation occurred on a day in October, when an incident between a protestor dressed in an inflatable frog costume and a federal agent in Portland captured global attention.

The moment came just days after a directive to send military personnel to the city, which was called "war-ravaged". Protesters began to gather in droves at a specific location, just outside of a federal building.

Emotions ran high and an immigration officer used irritant at the individual, aiming directly into the opening of the puffy frog costume.

Seth Todd, the man in the costume, quipped, stating it tasted like "spicier tamales". However, the video spread everywhere.

Mr Todd's attire fit right in for the city, renowned for its unconventional spirit and activist demonstrations that revel in the unusual – public yoga, retro fitness classes, and nude cycling groups. A local saying is "Embrace the Strange."

The costume even played a role in a lawsuit between the administration and Portland, which claimed the use of troops overstepped authority.

Although a ruling was issued that month that the administration had the right to send personnel, one judge dissented, referencing in her ruling the protesters' "propensity for donning inflatable costumes while voicing their disagreement."

"It is easy to see the court's opinion, which adopts the description of Portland as a battlefield, as simply ridiculous," she wrote. "However, this ruling is not merely absurd."

The action was stopped legally just a month later, and personnel are said to have left the area.

But by then, the amphibian costume had transformed into a significant anti-administration symbol for the left.

The costume was spotted nationwide at anti-authoritarian protests that fall. There were frogs – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – in major US cities. They appeared in small towns and big international cities abroad.

The frog costume was in high demand on major websites, and became more expensive.

Shaping the Visual Story

What brings both frogs together – lies in the interplay between the silly, innocent image and serious intent. Experts call this "tactical frivolity."

This approach is based on what the professor calls the "irresistible image" – usually humorous, it acts as a "appealing and non-threatening" performance that calls attention to a message without needing explicitly stating them. This is the silly outfit you wear, or the symbol you share.

The professor is an analyst on this topic and a veteran practitioner. He's written a text on the subject, and led seminars internationally.

"One can look back to historical periods – when people are dominated, they use absurdity to speak the truth a little bit and while maintaining plausible deniability."

The theory of such tactics is multi-faceted, he says.

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