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The protest movement won't be broadcast, but it could have webbed feet and protruding eyes.

Furthermore, it may involve the horn of a unicorn or the plumage of a chicken.

While rallies against the government persist in US cities, participants have embraced the vibe of a community costume parade. They've offered salsa lessons, given away treats, and ridden unicycles, while police observe.

Combining levity and politics – a tactic researchers term "tactical frivolity" – is not new. But it has become a defining feature of protests in the United States in the current era, embraced by both left and right.

One particular emblem has risen to become particularly salient – the frog. It started when a video of an encounter between a man in a frog suit and ICE agents in Portland, Oregon, went viral. From there, it proliferated to demonstrations throughout the United States.

"There is much happening with that little frog costume," notes a professor, who teaches at University of California, Davis and an academic who specialises in creative activism.

From Pepe to the Streets of Portland

It's hard to discuss demonstrations and amphibians without mentioning Pepe, an illustrated figure co-opted by online communities throughout an election cycle.

Initially, when the character initially spread online, people used it to express certain emotions. Afterwards, its use evolved to endorse a political figure, including a particular image endorsed by the candidate himself, portraying the frog with a signature suit and hair.

The frog was also portrayed in certain internet forums in offensive ways, as a historical dictator. Online conservatives traded "unique frog images" and set up cryptocurrency using its likeness. His catchphrase, "feels good, man", was deployed a shared phrase.

Yet its beginnings were not this divisive.

Matt Furie, artist Matt Furie, has expressed about his distaste for how the image has been used. His creation was meant as simply a "chill frog-dude" in his comic world.

The frog debuted in an online comic in the mid-2000s – apolitical and best known for a particular bathroom habit. In a documentary, which chronicles Mr Furie's efforts to take back of his creation, he stated the character was inspired by his life with friends and roommates.

As he started out, the artist tried uploading his work to the nascent social web, where the community began to borrow, remix and reinvent his character. As Pepe spread into fringe areas of online spaces, Mr Furie tried to disavow the frog, including ending its life in a final panel.

However, its legacy continued.

"It shows the lack of control over imagery," explains Prof Bogad. "Their meaning can evolve and be repurposed."

For a long time, the popularity of Pepe meant that amphibian imagery were predominantly linked to the right. This shifted on a day in October, when an incident between an activist wearing a blow-up amphibian suit and a federal agent in Portland spread rapidly online.

The event occurred shortly after a directive to deploy military personnel to the city, which was described as "war-ravaged". Demonstrators began to congregate on a single block, just outside of a federal building.

The situation was tense and a officer used irritant at the individual, targeting the opening of the costume.

The individual, the man in the costume, quipped, saying he had tasted "something milder". Yet the footage became a sensation.

Mr Todd's attire fit right in for the city, renowned for its eccentric vibe and activist demonstrations that delight in the ridiculous – public yoga, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and unique parades. The city's unofficial motto is "Keep Portland Weird."

The costume was also referenced in a lawsuit between the administration and Portland, which contended the deployment was illegal.

Although a ruling was issued in October that the administration had the right to send personnel, one judge dissented, mentioning the protesters' "known tendency for donning inflatable costumes when expressing their disagreement."

"It is easy to see the court's opinion, which adopts the description of Portland as a war zone, as simply ridiculous," she opined. "But today's decision goes beyond absurdity."

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

However, by that time, the amphibian costume had transformed into a significant symbol of resistance for progressive movements.

The inflatable suit appeared nationwide at anti-authoritarian protests that fall. Frogs appeared – along with other creatures – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They were in small towns and big international cities abroad.

The inflatable suit was in high demand on major websites, and became more expensive.

Mastering the Optics

What brings the two amphibian symbols – lies in the relationship between the silly, innocent image and underlying political significance. Experts call this "tactical frivolity."

This approach relies on what Mr Bogad terms the "irresistible image" – usually humorous, it acts as a "disarming and charming" act that draws focus to a message without needing directly articulating them. This is the silly outfit you wear, or the symbol circulated.

Mr Bogad is both an expert on this topic and someone who uses these tactics. He authored a book on the subject, and taught workshops around the world.

"You could go back to the Middle Ages – under oppressive regimes, absurd humor is used to express dissent a little bit and while maintaining plausible deniability."

The idea of this approach is multi-faceted, Mr Bogad says.

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