US Election 2020: What is kraken and why did the former Trump attorney release it?
The kraken is a giant marine monster from Scandinavian folklore that rises from the ocean to night devoured by its enemies.
Kraken has also become a common meme on the Internet that represents a very large and unproven set of allegations that claim to clarify the widespread issue of fraud in the US presidential election.
Pro-Trump groups, including conspiracy theorists Kiwanan, have inflated the idea with the hashtag #ReleaseTheKrake, widely shared with those who support the legal campaign to challenge the election results.
Lawyer for the "kraken"
Attorney Sidney Powell, who until recently was part of Donald Trump's legal team and now works independently, described the case that was escalating as a "Kraken" when he was released would destroy Democrat Joe Biden's winning of the US presidency.
However, once the documents, close to 200 pages, were released, it turned out to be mostly composed of conspiracy theories and groundless allegations that had already been widely debunked.
Some of these allegations have already been dismissed in the courts hearing these cases, while others, such as the accusations that the machines used in the polling process are part of a conspiracy that arose during the era of former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, have not been supported by any reliable evidence.
Powell did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.
Conspiracy theories
Powell is closely following conspiracy theorists Kiwanan, who believe President Trump is secretly fighting a deep state of devil worshipers and child molesters in the Democratic Party, the media, the business world and Hollywood.
Many in this movement are still convinced that President Trump will be installed for a second term on January 20, despite his loss in the elections.
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Powell cemented her position as a favorite among the movement’s followers by appearing on the popular Coyoanan programs on the Internet, interacting with influencers in the movement and re-sharing their tweets or using Koanan in her tweets.
Powell's reputation in the Kiwanan world was further bolstered by her relationship with Michael Flynn, President Trump's first national security advisor, and another key figure among the Kewanan supporters.
Powell became Flynn's defense attorney after he was found guilty during the Justice Department investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 elections and urged him to withdraw his guilt. Flynn was pardoned by the president this week.
Some Kuoanan followers believe Flynn was directly involved in Trump's secret battle against the deep state.
For their part, both Powell and Flynn denied any involvement with the Kewanan movement.
Kraken Publishers
Discussions on social media about kraken are polarizing the same as the current state of US policy does.
Many of the posts broadcast by the supporters of Kiwanan and Trump appear confident that the documents published by Powell are evidence of significant fraud in the elections while opponents mocked them for spelling errors in their posts and the lack of concrete evidence.
It is reported that there have been nearly 100,000 tweets referring to Kraken in the past 48 hours on Twitter.
According to public data from CrowdTangle, an analytics tool owned by the social media company Facebook, there have been just over a million interactions involving the word Kraken since last Wednesday evening.
What is stated in the documents?
The documents contain many of the inaccurate or unfounded allegations of election fraud that we previously examined.
It also makes other unlikely allegations about voting machines that have been used in major states.
Powell says that the machines used in the voting process and manufactured by the Dominion company, which were used in Michigan and Georgia, allow "electronic ballot stuffing", and foreign agents have reached these machines to manipulate the results of the US elections.
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There is no evidence of foreign interference in the 2020 US elections, or transfer of votes from one candidate to another.
A problem was identified in one county in Michigan, but it was traced back to human error rather than a Dominion program problem, and election officials say the error was quickly detected and corrected.
Powell also says that the Dominion program does not allow "simple audits to reveal flaws related to misallocation, redistribution or deletion of votes," so the evidence is now "almost invisible."
But Dominion Machinery provides a backup copy of the ballot papers to verify the results, and Georgia performed a manual recount of the ballot papers that confirmed Joe Biden's victory.
"With the newer machines that produce paper ballots, including those used in Georgia, any type of electronic ballot stuffing may necessarily involve," says Dan Wallach, a computer scientist who works as a consultant on national guidelines regarding the machines used in the voting process. On printing the wrong ballot papers, which is sure to be discovered during the election process itself. "
For its part, the company, "Dominion Vetting Systems", denied that its devices have been compromised in any way.
What could happen next?
Legal experts say the lawsuits are unlikely to go a long way in the courts because they involve numerous assertions without citing any convincing evidence.
New key evidence was presented in an under-oath testimony provided by a Dominion Whistleblower, but whose name has been withheld.
Legal experts indicated that if a witness is presented there is a need to challenge his testimony, which cannot be done effectively if his identity is concealed.
Lawyer Mike Dunford said: "If your witness needs to keep his identity hidden due to legitimate concerns about his safety, there are ways to achieve this, but these methods do not include anonymity from the court and the attorney of the other party."
We contacted public administration officials in Georgia and Michigan to respond to Sydney Powell's allegations, but we have not received a response.
The US government's Cybersecurity Agency said the 2020 US election was "the safest in American history."
BBC
