How One Israeli Social Media App Is Revolutionizing the 2016 Campaign

Inside The Rise Of ‘#Meerkat‘: How The #Israeli App Is Revolutionizing Live #Mobile Broadcasting – http://t.co/A6uBC0pbYI. Via @NoCamels.

— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) April 7, 2015

According to the Columbia Journalism Review, apps like Meerkat are changing political journalism, putting the power of the message into the hands of the candidates, not the mainstream media. Mere days after its debut at SXSW, Jeb Bush jumped on the Meerkat bandwagon, livestreaming his appearance on the Hugh Hewitt show. Yet, the technology isn’t without VEEP-esque risk:

Still, the apps create opportunities to catch candidates in uncomfortable positions. Gaffes have become a business for accountability groups, like Media Matters and America Rising. The latter deploys dozens of ‘trackers’ to follow and film democratic candidates.

The better the information flow, the better the backbiting.