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The protest movement won't be broadcast, yet it might possess amphibious toes and bulging eyes.

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

As rallies opposing the government carry on in American cities, participants have embraced the vibe of a neighborhood dress-up party. They've offered salsa lessons, distributed snacks, and ridden unicycles, as officers watch.

Mixing levity and politics – an approach researchers refer to as "tactical frivolity" – is not new. However, it has emerged as a signature characteristic of protests in the United States in recent years, adopted by all sides of the political spectrum.

A specific icon has proven to be notably significant – the frog. It started when video footage of a confrontation between a protester in an amphibian costume and federal officers in Portland, Oregon, became an internet sensation. And it has since spread to demonstrations throughout the United States.

"There is much happening with that humble inflatable frog," says a professor, a professor at UC Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who studies creative activism.

From Pepe to the Streets of Portland

It is difficult to examine demonstrations and amphibians without talking about Pepe, a web comic frog embraced by online communities during an election cycle.

Initially, when the meme initially spread on the internet, its purpose was to signal certain emotions. Later, it was utilized to endorse a candidate, even one notable meme endorsed by that figure himself, depicting the frog with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

Images also circulated in right-wing online communities in more extreme scenarios, portrayed as a hate group member. Users exchanged "unique frog images" and established cryptocurrency using its likeness. His catchphrase, "feels good, man", was deployed an inside joke.

However the character did not originate this divisive.

Its creator, artist Matt Furie, has stated about his distaste for its appropriation. The character was intended as simply an apolitical figure in his comic world.

The frog first appeared in comic strips in 2005 – non-political and notable for a particular bathroom habit. A film, which follows Mr Furie's efforts to wrest back control of his work, he said his drawing came from his time with friends and roommates.

Early in his career, Mr Furie tried uploading his work to the nascent social web, where people online began to borrow, remix and reinvent the frog. As its popularity grew into fringe areas of online spaces, Mr Furie tried to disavow his creation, even killing him off in a final panel.

However, its legacy continued.

"This demonstrates the lack of control over icons," explains Prof Bogad. "Their meaning can evolve and be reworked."

Previously, the association of this meme meant that frogs were largely associated with conservative politics. But that changed recently, when an incident between an activist dressed in an inflatable frog costume and an immigration officer in Portland captured global attention.

The moment came just days after an order to deploy the National Guard to Portland, which was described as "a warzone". Protesters began to assemble in large numbers outside a facility, near a federal building.

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

The individual, the man in the costume, responded with a joke, stating he had tasted "something milder". However, the video became a sensation.

The frog suit fit right in for the city, renowned for its unconventional spirit and left-wing protests that revel in the absurd – public yoga, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and nude cycling groups. A local saying is "Embrace the Strange."

The frog even played a role in a lawsuit between the administration and Portland, which argued the use of troops was illegal.

Although a ruling was issued that month that the president had the right to deploy troops, one judge dissented, noting in her opinion demonstrators' "known tendency for using unusual attire when expressing dissent."

"Observers may be tempted the court's opinion, which accepts the description of Portland as a battlefield, as simply ridiculous," the dissenting judge opined. "However, this ruling goes beyond absurdity."

The order was halted by courts just a month later, and personnel are said to have left the area.

However, by that time, the frog was now a significant protest icon for the left.

This symbol was spotted in many cities at anti-authoritarian protests that fall. Frogs appeared – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – in major US cities. They were in rural communities and global metropolises abroad.

This item was in high demand on major websites, and became more expensive.

Shaping the Optics

What brings the two amphibian symbols – is the interplay between the humorous, benign cartoon and serious intent. Experts call this "tactical frivolity."

The strategy relies on what Mr Bogad calls a "disarming display" – usually humorous, it acts as a "appealing and non-threatening" act that calls attention to a cause without directly articulating them. This is the silly outfit you wear, or the symbol you share.

Mr Bogad is an analyst in the subject and a veteran practitioner. He authored a book on the subject, and taught workshops around the world.

"One can look back to the Middle Ages – when people are dominated, absurd humor is used to speak the truth a little bit and still have plausible deniability."

The purpose of this approach is multi-faceted, he explains.

As activists confront the state, a silly costume {takes control of|seizes|influences