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This resistance isn't broadcast, yet it might possess webbed feet and protruding eyes.

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

As rallies opposing the administration persist in US cities, participants are utilizing the spirit of a local block party. They have taught salsa lessons, distributed treats, and performed on unicycles, as police observe.

Combining humour and politics – a strategy social scientists refer to as "tactical frivolity" – is not new. Yet it has transformed into a defining feature of protests in the United States in the current era, used by various groups.

And one symbol has emerged as notably significant – the frog. It began after a video of a clash between a man in an amphibian costume and immigration enforcement agents in the city of Portland, went viral. It subsequently appeared to demonstrations throughout the United States.

"There is much at play with that small inflatable frog," says a professor, a professor at University of California, Davis and an academic who studies performance art.

The Path From a Cartoon Frog to Portland

It's hard to examine protests and frogs without mentioning Pepe, an illustrated figure embraced by extremist movements throughout an election cycle.

Initially, when this image initially spread online, its purpose was to signal specific feelings. Later, it was deployed to express backing for a candidate, even one notable meme endorsed by the candidate personally, portraying the frog with a signature suit and hair.

The frog was also portrayed in right-wing online communities in darker contexts, as a hate group member. Participants traded "rare Pepes" and set up digital currency using its likeness. Its famous line, "feels good, man", was used an inside joke.

But Pepe didn't start out this divisive.

The artist behind it, the illustrator, has expressed about his disapproval for its appropriation. Pepe was supposed to be simply a "chill frog-dude" in his series.

Pepe 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 creation, he said his drawing came from his life with friends and roommates.

As he started out, Mr Furie experimented with uploading his work to new websites, where people online began to borrow, remix and reinvent his character. When the meme proliferated into darker parts of the internet, the creator sought to reject the frog, even killing him off in a comic strip.

But Pepe lived on.

"It proves that we don't control imagery," explains the professor. "They transform and be repurposed."

Until recently, the popularity of Pepe meant that frogs became a symbol for the right. This shifted recently, when a confrontation between an activist wearing a blow-up amphibian suit and an immigration officer in Portland captured global attention.

The event came just days after an order to deploy the National Guard to Portland, which was described as "a warzone". Demonstrators began to assemble in large numbers on a single block, just outside of a federal building.

Emotions ran high and an immigration officer used irritant at a protester, directing it into the opening of the costume.

The individual, Seth Todd, reacted humorously, saying it tasted like "spicier tamales". However, the video became a sensation.

The costume fit right in for the city, renowned for its eccentric vibe and left-wing protests that delight in the unusual – public yoga, retro fitness classes, and nude cycling groups. Its creed is "Embrace the Strange."

The frog even played a role in the ensuing legal battle between the federal government and Portland, which contended the use of troops overstepped authority.

While a ruling was issued in October that the president had the right to deploy troops, a minority opinion disagreed, noting in her opinion the protesters' "known tendency for donning inflatable costumes while voicing their disagreement."

"Some might view this decision, which accepts the description of Portland as a battlefield, as merely absurd," she opined. "However, this ruling has serious implications."

The deployment was halted by courts just a month later, and troops have reportedly departed the city.

Yet already, the frog had become a powerful symbol of resistance for the left.

This symbol appeared across the country at anti-authoritarian protests last autumn. There were frogs – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – in major US cities. They were in small towns and global metropolises like Tokyo and London.

The frog costume was in high demand on online retailers, and became more expensive.

Shaping the Narrative

What connects both frogs together – is the relationship between the humorous, benign cartoon and a deeper political meaning. Experts call this "tactical frivolity."

The tactic relies on what the professor calls a "disarming display" – usually humorous, it acts as a "disarming and charming" display that highlights a message without obviously explaining them. This is the silly outfit you wear, or the meme circulated.

Mr Bogad is both an expert on this topic and someone who uses these tactics. He's written a book called 'Tactical Performance', and taught workshops around the world.

"One can look back to the Middle Ages – when people are dominated, they use absurdity to express dissent a little bit and while maintaining plausible deniability."

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

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