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This protest movement may not be broadcast, though it may feature amphibious toes and bulging eyes.

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

As rallies opposing the administration continue in American cities, participants have embraced the spirit of a community costume parade. They've provided salsa lessons, given away treats, and ridden unicycles, as police watch.

Mixing comedy and politics – an approach experts term "tactical frivolity" – isn't novel. Yet it has transformed into a hallmark of US demonstrations in recent years, adopted by various groups.

One particular emblem has proven to be especially powerful – the frog. It started when recordings of an encounter between an individual in a frog suit and immigration enforcement agents in the city of Portland, spread online. It subsequently appeared to protests throughout the United States.

"A great deal at play with that humble inflatable frog," states an expert, who teaches at UC Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who focuses on performance art.

The Path From the Pepe Meme to Portland

It's hard to examine protests and frogs without talking about Pepe, a web comic frog co-opted by online communities throughout a political race.

Initially, when this image initially spread on the internet, it was used to signal specific feelings. Later, its use evolved to express backing for a political figure, including a particular image shared by that figure personally, showing the frog with a signature suit and hair.

The frog was also portrayed in certain internet forums in more extreme scenarios, portrayed as a historical dictator. Participants traded "unique frog images" and set up cryptocurrency in his name. His catchphrase, "that feels good", became a coded signal.

However its beginnings were not this divisive.

Matt Furie, the illustrator, has stated about his unhappiness for how the image has been used. The character was intended as simply a "chill frog-dude" in this artist's universe.

Pepe debuted in comic strips in 2005 – non-political and notable for a particular bathroom habit. In a documentary, which documents the creator's attempt to reclaim ownership of his creation, he said the character came from his time with companions.

When he began, Mr Furie tried sharing his art to early internet platforms, where people online began to borrow, remix and reinvent the frog. When the meme proliferated into darker parts of online spaces, Mr Furie tried to disavow his creation, even killing him off in a final panel.

But Pepe lived on.

"It shows the lack of control over imagery," states the professor. "They can change and shift and be reclaimed."

Until recently, the popularity of this meme meant that amphibian imagery were largely associated with conservative politics. A transformation occurred in early October, when an incident between an activist wearing a blow-up amphibian suit and a federal agent in Portland, Oregon spread rapidly online.

The moment followed an order to send military personnel to the city, which was described as "a warzone". Demonstrators began to congregate on a single block, just outside of an immigration enforcement facility.

Emotions ran high and an immigration officer sprayed irritant at a protester, aiming directly into the air intake fan of the puffy frog costume.

Seth Todd, Seth Todd, responded with a joke, stating it tasted like "something milder". Yet the footage became a sensation.

The costume was somewhat typical for Portland, known for its eccentric vibe and left-wing protests that delight in the unusual – public yoga, retro fitness classes, and unique parades. A local saying is "Embrace the Strange."

This symbol became part of in subsequent court proceedings between the administration and Portland, which claimed the deployment was illegal.

Although a judge decided in October that the administration had the right to send personnel, a minority opinion disagreed, noting in her opinion the protesters' "well-known penchant for using unusual attire while voicing their disagreement."

"Observers may be tempted the court's opinion, which adopts the government's characterization as a war zone, as merely absurd," Judge Susan Graber wrote. "Yet the outcome is not merely absurd."

The order was stopped legally just a month later, and personnel have reportedly departed the area.

But by then, the frog had become a significant protest icon for progressive movements.

The costume appeared across the country at No Kings protests that fall. Amphibian costumes were present – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They were in rural communities and big international cities like Tokyo and London.

The frog costume was backordered on online retailers, and saw its cost increase.

Shaping the Visual Story

The link between the two amphibian symbols – lies in the interplay between the silly, innocent image and serious intent. Experts call this "tactical frivolity."

This approach is based on what Mr Bogad terms a "disarming display" – often silly, it acts as a "disarming and charming" performance that draws focus to your ideas without explicitly stating them. It's the silly outfit used, or the symbol you share.

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

"One can look back to historical periods – under oppressive regimes, absurd humor is used to express dissent indirectly and still have plausible deniability."

The theory of this approach is three-fold, he says.

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