Tidal steps forth to defend themselves. Today (May 10), just one day after absorbing one Norwegian newspaper's claim that the streaming platform manipulated streaming data to increase the streaming numbers of former part-owner Kanye West and current co-owner Beyonce, the brand denied reports that they'd done any such thing.

“This is a smear campaign from a publication that once referred to our employee as an ‘Israeli Intelligence officer’ and our owner [Jay-Z] as a ‘crack dealer,'” Tidal said in a statement to XXL. “We expect nothing less from them than this ridiculous story, lies and falsehoods. The information was stolen and manipulated and we will fight these claims vigorously.”

Dagens Næringsliv, which is the Norway-based publication that initially made the allegations about Tidal potentially manipulating their streaming data, claims to have made their determination based on research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

“We have through advanced statistical analysis determined that there has in fact been a manipulation of the [Tidal] data at particular times,” reads the pub's report. “The manipulation appears targeted towards a very specific set of track IDs, related to two distinct albums.”

Those two albums are Bey's critically acclaimed LP, Lemonade, and Yeezy's The Life of Pablo. Two years ago, Tidal reported that TLOP had been streamed 250 million times within its first 10 days. Tidal first launched in 2015, and Jay-Z, Bey and Kanye were among artists with a financial stake in the brand.

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