The #duolingo stuff still seems very much unverified at this stage. Just one person made the claim, and it has been a couple of weeks now, with no one else coming forward. No verified identities.
I'll join in with my pitchfork if it is true though. And I can totally see why so many people are ready to believe even the slightest rumor.
I prefer Memrise anyway, more fun, more challenging and never pretended to be anything other than commercial.