Werder Bremen, a Bundesliga football club, has become the second team to depart from the social media platform X, which is owned by Elon Musk. The German club announced their decision to leave the platform immediately, following a similar move by St. Pauli just a few days earlier. Werder Bremen had almost 540,000 followers on their German account and over 37,000 followers on their English account.
The club made the decision after a meeting late on Monday, citing concerns about Elon Musk’s ownership of the platform. The departure comes amidst a trend of high-profile individuals and celebrities leaving X for alternative platforms like Bluesky, Threads, and Mastodon. The exodus has been attributed to allegations of hate speech, far-right conspiracy theories, and racism being allowed to spread on X.
In a statement, Werder Bremen expressed their reasons for leaving X, accusing Musk of allowing hate speech, discrimination, and extremist posts to proliferate under the guise of freedom of speech. The club’s CEO, Klaus Filbry, highlighted concerns about the lack of transparency in X’s algorithms and decision-making processes, as well as Musk’s personal posts containing transphobic and anti-semitic remarks.
St. Pauli, another Bundesliga club, had previously announced their departure from X on November 14 for similar reasons, calling the platform a “hate machine” that could influence election campaigns negatively. The club expressed concerns about the platform promoting racism, conspiracy theories, and threats under the guise of free speech.
Both clubs have encouraged their followers to join them on Bluesky, an alternative social media platform that has seen a surge in users in recent weeks. Bluesky has been hailed as a refuge from alleged far-right activism on X, with other platforms like Threads and Mastodon also gaining popularity as alternatives.
The decision of Werder Bremen and St. Pauli to leave X reflects a broader trend of individuals and organisations reevaluating their presence on social media platforms amidst concerns about hate speech, extremism, and inadequate moderation practices. As more entities seek out alternative platforms that align with their values, the landscape of social media is experiencing a significant shift towards platforms that prioritise transparency, inclusivity, and accountability.