Werder Bremen cut ties with Elon Musk's X over 'hate speech' worries

BERLIN - German club Werder Bremen have decided to end their presence on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, due to a significant rise in "hate speech" attributed to owner Elon Musk. Following in the footsteps of Bundesliga counterpart St Pauli, Werder Bremen expressed concern over the surge in negative comments and toxic behavior on the platform.

Bremen, four-time German champions, announced the decision late on Nov 18 after meeting, saying American billionaire Musk - who bought Twitter in 2022 before rebranding it as X - had turned it into “a political weapon.”

“Since Elon Musk took over the platform, hate speech, hatred against minorities, right-wing extremism and conspiracy theories have increased at an incredible pace under the guise of freedom of expression,” the club said in a statement.

Bremen said the platform’s “radicalisation” was “being driven by Elon Musk himself” and adding “a red line has been crossed”.

Bremen, who last won the German title in 2004, have more than 600,000 followers on the social media platform.