‘A hate machine’: St Pauli become first major football club to leave Twitter/X

Bundesliga club move to Bluesky and urge fans to follow citing concerns that Elon Musk's platform may influence German election

HATE MACHINE: Twitter/X CEO Elon Musk (R) joins former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally at site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on October 5, 2024. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

St Pauli have become the first major football club to leave X, describing the social media site as a “hate machine” and expressing concern that it may influence the outcome of the forthcoming German election.

Scrutiny of the role played by X in platforming hate speech, far-right conspiracy theories and racism has intensified since Donald Trump’s victory in last week’s US election. Trump was vociferously supported by the entrepreneur Elon Musk, who bought X – then known as Twitter – in October 2022. Musk was given part-control of a new “department of government efficiency” this week.