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Meerkat
The brief but extraordinarily brutal live streaming app war has taken another turn as Twitter stands accused of coercing celebrities into ditching Meerkat.
Twitter launched its own video live streaming app, Periscope, just a couple of weeks ago. In preparation, it essentially cut its most direct competitor in the field off at the knees.
Overnight media darling Meerkat was prevented from being able to use Twitter's social graph, essentially scuppering the app's chances of success in one swipe.
Twitter didn't end its assault there, if recent reports are to be believed. According to TechCrunch, multiple sources have revealed that Twitter has been contacting celebrities that use Meerkat to convince them to switch to Periscope.
"Twitter hounds every celebrity after they try Meerkat. Almost to the point of stalking," said one source. "Twitter is absolutely obsessed with Meerkat. They talk about it all the time to the point that the Periscope employees and founders are angry."
In addition, Twitter has apparently been in contact with media companies that use Meerkat, threatening cut off their access to the Amplify advertising tool if they don't switch to Periscope.
Read More: What is Meerkat?
The report claims that Meerkat isn't entirely innocent in the underhanded tactics game. According to one source, Meerkat has been poaching talent away from Vine - the Twitter-owned video snippet-sharing service.
Meerkat, for its part, denies reaching out to anyone in this way since its February 27 launch. Either way, the slightly grubby war between these two live streaming video apps doesn't look like wrapping up any time soon.
