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This revolution won't be broadcast, yet it might possess webbed feet and protruding eyes.

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

Whilst rallies against the administration persist in American cities, protesters have embraced the energy of a neighborhood dress-up party. They have taught salsa lessons, handed out snacks, and ridden unicycles, as police observe.

Blending comedy and political action – an approach experts refer to as "tactical frivolity" – isn't novel. Yet it has transformed into a signature characteristic of American protest in this period, embraced by both left and right.

A specific icon has risen to become especially powerful – the frog. It started when video footage of a clash between a man in an amphibian costume and immigration enforcement agents in the city of Portland, became an internet sensation. It subsequently appeared to demonstrations throughout the United States.

"There is much going on with that little inflatable frog," says a professor, a professor at University of California, Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who specialises in performance art.

The Path From Pepe to Portland

It's challenging to discuss protests and frogs without talking about Pepe, a cartoon character co-opted by online communities throughout an election cycle.

As this image first took off online, its purpose was to signal certain emotions. Later, its use evolved to endorse a candidate, even one notable meme shared by the candidate personally, depicting the frog with a signature suit and hair.

Images also circulated in digital spaces in offensive ways, as a hate group member. Users exchanged "rare Pepes" and set up digital currency using its likeness. Its famous line, "feels good, man", was used a coded signal.

But Pepe didn't start out as a political symbol.

The artist behind it, the illustrator, has expressed about his disapproval for its co-option. The character was intended as simply a "chill frog-dude" in his series.

The frog debuted in comic strips in 2005 – apolitical and famous for a quirky behavior. In a documentary, which chronicles Mr Furie's efforts to take back of his work, he explained his drawing was inspired by his time with companions.

Early in his career, the artist experimented with sharing his art to the nascent social web, where the community began to copy, alter, and reinterpret his character. As Pepe spread into the more extreme corners of online spaces, Mr Furie tried to disavow his creation, including ending its life in a comic strip.

However, its legacy continued.

"It proves that we don't control icons," explains Prof Bogad. "Their meaning can evolve and be reworked."

For a long time, the notoriety of Pepe resulted in amphibian imagery became a symbol for conservative politics. This shifted recently, when a confrontation between a protestor wearing an inflatable frog costume and a federal agent in Portland went viral.

The moment came just days after an order to send military personnel to Portland, which was called "a warzone". Demonstrators began to congregate at a specific location, just outside of an ICE office.

Tensions were high and a officer used a chemical agent at a protester, targeting the air intake fan of the inflatable suit.

The protester, the man in the costume, quipped, saying he had tasted "something milder". Yet the footage went viral.

The frog suit was not too unusual for the city, renowned for its unconventional spirit and activist demonstrations that delight in the ridiculous – public yoga, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and nude cycling groups. The city's unofficial motto is "Keep Portland Weird."

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

While the court ruled that month that the administration had the right to send personnel, a dissenting judge wrote, noting in her opinion demonstrators' "propensity for wearing chicken suits when expressing dissent."

"It is easy to see the court's opinion, which accepts the description of Portland as a war zone, as merely absurd," Judge Susan Graber opined. "But today's decision is not merely absurd."

The deployment was halted by courts soon after, and personnel withdrew from the city.

But by then, the amphibian costume had become a potent anti-administration symbol for progressive movements.

This symbol appeared nationwide at anti-authoritarian protests last autumn. Amphibian costumes were present – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They appeared in small towns and global metropolises like Tokyo and London.

The frog costume was sold out on major websites, and became more expensive.

Shaping the Narrative

What connects Pepe and the protest frog – is the dynamic between the silly, innocent image and serious intent. This concept is "tactical frivolity."

The tactic relies on what the professor terms the "irresistible image" – usually humorous, it's a "disarming and charming" display that draws focus to your ideas without explicitly stating them. It's the silly outfit used, or the symbol circulated.

Mr Bogad is both an expert in the subject and a veteran practitioner. He's written a book on the subject, and taught workshops around the world.

"You could go back to the Middle Ages – under oppressive regimes, they use absurdity to speak the truth a little bit and still have a layer of protection."

The idea of such tactics is three-fold, he explains.

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