Victoria Police has expressed "extreme disappointment" in one of its officers for the second time in two days, after screenshots of his Facebook page displaying alt-right material were shared on social media.

Key points: The OK symbol is believed to have become associated with the far-right in 2017

The OK symbol is believed to have become associated with the far-right in 2017 Victoria Police first said "any suggestion the [officer] was signalling [anything other than OK] was untrue"

Victoria Police first said "any suggestion the [officer] was signalling [anything other than OK] was untrue" But it has since announced it is looking into the possibility of further action after far-right memes were uncovered on the officer's since-deleted social media page

The officer was pictured with his thumb and index finger making an 'OK' sign — a symbol frequently used by members of the far right — towards protesters at a climate rally in Melbourne this week.

Victoria Police acknowledged the photograph was legitimate, and initially said the officer had confirmed he made the symbol to ask if protesters were OK.

But screenshots then emerged from a Facebook page appearing to belong to the officer, which displayed a number of memes circulated by the alt-right movement.

In a subsequent statement on Saturday, police confirmed they were aware of both the 'OK' hand gesture incident and previous posts to the police officer's social media page, which has since been deleted.

An image of Wojak or "feels guy" was used as the officer's profile picture on Facebook.

"In relation to the hand gesture, we have reviewed body-worn camera footage of the incident and it's inconclusive," the statement said.

"The footage does not capture both sides of the interaction and is at times obscured by structures and people."

Police reiterated that the officer had advised he was "simply using the 'are you OK?' sign" to communicate with protesters.

"We have spoken extensively to the officer in question and he has advised the hand gesture was simply the 'are you OK' sign directed at two protesters who looked distressed," the statement said.

Why is the 'OK' symbol associated with the alt right?

The 'OK' sign has been co-opted by the far-right, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an international NGO that aims to "fight anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry", taking on a new significance after a 2017 4chan hoax.

The prank saw members of the anonymous social network "falsely promote the gesture as a hate symbol, claiming the gesture represented the letters 'WP' for 'white power'," according to the ADL.

It became so successful that it morphed into "a popular trolling tactic on the part of right-leaning individuals".

The symbol's surge in popularity in turn led to "at least some white supremacists [abandoning] the ironic or satiric intent behind the original trolling campaign and used the symbol as a sincere expression of white supremacy" by 2019.

Alt right memes 'under no circumstances reflective of Victoria Police values'

The screenshots that Victoria Police confirmed had originated from the officer's personal Facebook page included an image of Wojak or "feels guy" being used as the officer's profile picture — that image was allegedly used in 2016 by Donald Trump supporters to mock the mentality of liberals.

They also included an image of a crying Pepe the Frog — a character that has been linked to the alt-right since 2016, when it was allegedly used in the US election to promote ideals of white nationalism.

A crying Pepe the Frog was also screenshot from the officer's Facebook page. (Supplied)

"In regards to his social media page, we are aware of a small number of posts which include inappropriate memes," Victoria Police said.

"Under no circumstances are these posts reflective of the values of Victoria Police."

The officer has been spoken to about the posts, and, the statement continued: "Although they were made more than 12 months ago, he is aware of our extreme disappointment.

"While officers are entitled to have personal social media accounts, we do not want or expect them to be including content which may offend members of the community."

Victoria Police said it was in the process of determining whether further action would be required.

It comes after another Victoria Police officer involved in responding to climate protests was photographed wearing a sticker with a slogan reading "EAD hippy" — with the letters EAD often used to mean "eat a dick" — on his body camera.

In a statement, Victoria Police confirmed the image was genuine, also saying it was "extremely disappointed" by that officer's actions.