Werder Bremen, a German soccer club, has made the decision to cease its activity on X, becoming the second Bundesliga team to do so. This decision was made due to an increase in hate speech observed since Elon Musk's acquisition of the platform.
The announcement was made following a club meeting held on Monday, shortly after St. Pauli's similar decision to transition its posts to the Bluesky platform last week.
Werder Bremen had amassed over 500,000 followers on its German-language channel on X, which was originally known as Twitter when the club joined in May 2008.
In a statement released in English, the club expressed concern that "under the guise of freedom of expression, hate speech, animosity towards minorities, right-wing extremist content, and conspiracy theories have proliferated on X at an alarming rate."
The club noted that the "recent radicalization" of X indicated that "a line has been crossed."
A news release on Werder’s website in German referenced Musk, alleging that he has utilized the platform as a political tool.
Currently, Werder Bremen ranks eighth in the 18-team Bundesliga and last claimed one of its four titles in 2004.