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

It also might feature a unicorn's horn or a chicken's feathers.

While protests opposing the leadership continue in American cities, participants have embraced the energy of a community costume parade. They have taught dance instruction, handed out snacks, and ridden unicycles, as officers watch.

Combining levity and political action – an approach experts call "tactical frivolity" – is not new. However, it has emerged as a defining feature of American protest in this period, adopted by various groups.

One particular emblem has risen to become notably significant – the frog. It started when a video of a clash between an individual in a frog suit and federal officers in Portland, Oregon, spread online. From there, it proliferated to demonstrations across the country.

"There is much going on with that small blow-up amphibian," notes an expert, a professor at UC Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who focuses on creative activism.

From a Cartoon Frog to Portland

It's hard to discuss protests and frogs without talking about Pepe, a web comic frog embraced by far-right groups during a political race.

Initially, when the character first took off online, it was used to convey certain emotions. Afterwards, its use evolved to express backing for a candidate, including one notable meme shared by that figure himself, depicting the frog with a signature suit and hair.

Images also circulated in digital spaces in offensive ways, as a historical dictator. Users exchanged "unique frog images" and established digital currency using its likeness. Its famous line, "feels good, man", was deployed a coded signal.

Yet its beginnings were not as a political symbol.

Matt Furie, artist Matt Furie, has been vocal about his disapproval for its appropriation. Pepe was supposed to be simply an apolitical figure in his series.

The frog debuted in a series of comics in the mid-2000s – apolitical and famous for a particular bathroom habit. In a documentary, which follows the creator's attempt to take back of his work, he stated his drawing was inspired by his life with companions.

As he started out, the artist tried uploading his work to new websites, where people online began to copy, alter, and reinterpret the frog. As its popularity grew into the more extreme corners of online spaces, Mr Furie sought to reject the frog, even killing him off in a comic strip.

But Pepe lived on.

"It proves that we don't control icons," says Prof Bogad. "They transform and be reworked."

For a long time, the popularity of Pepe resulted in amphibian imagery became a symbol for conservative politics. A transformation occurred in early October, when a confrontation between an activist wearing a blow-up amphibian suit and a federal agent in Portland, Oregon spread rapidly online.

This incident came just days after a directive to deploy military personnel to the city, which was described as "war-ravaged". Demonstrators began to congregate at a specific location, just outside of an immigration enforcement facility.

Emotions ran high and an immigration officer used pepper spray at a protester, aiming directly into the air intake fan of the inflatable suit.

The protester, the man in the costume, quipped, stating it tasted like "something milder". But the incident went viral.

Mr Todd's attire was somewhat typical for the city, famous for its unconventional spirit and activist demonstrations that embrace the absurd – outdoor exercise, retro fitness classes, and nude cycling groups. The city's unofficial motto is "Keep Portland Weird."

The frog even played a role in the ensuing legal battle between the federal government and Portland, which argued the use of troops was unlawful.

Although a judge decided in October that the president had the right to deploy troops, one judge dissented, referencing in her ruling demonstrators' "propensity for donning inflatable costumes while voicing dissent."

"Some might view the majority's ruling, which adopts the government's characterization as a war zone, as simply ridiculous," the dissenting judge wrote. "But today's decision has serious implications."

The deployment was stopped legally soon after, and personnel have reportedly departed the city.

Yet already, the frog was now a powerful protest icon for the left.

The costume was spotted nationwide at anti-authoritarian protests that fall. Frogs appeared – along with other creatures – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They appeared in rural communities and global metropolises like Tokyo and London.

The inflatable suit was in high demand on online retailers, and rose in price.

Shaping the Narrative

What connects both frogs together – is the dynamic between the silly, innocent image and a deeper political meaning. This concept is "tactical frivolity."

The strategy relies on what Mr Bogad terms a "disarming display" – often silly, it's a "disarming and charming" performance that highlights a message without explicitly stating them. This is the goofy costume you wear, or the meme circulated.

The professor is both an expert on this topic and someone who uses these tactics. He's written a book called 'Tactical Performance', and led seminars internationally.

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

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

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