German soccer club St. Pauli is leaving X, saying the social media platform has become a “hate machine” that could influence upcoming German elections.

St Pauli Hamburg has decided to leave the social media platform X, citing as a reason that Elon Musk, the owner of the microblogging platform, has turned it into a "hate amplifier." "Elon Musk has turned a space for debate into a hate amplifier that could also influence the Bundestag elections,

German Bundesliga club St Pauli said on Thursday it was withdrawing from X because the social media platform had become an 'amplifier of hate' that could influence German politics.

The club also called on its followers on Elon Musk's X to switch to BlueSky. The club statement was accompanied by a photo of a sticker showing a fist smashing a swastika, beside the club’s emblem and a slogan saying its fans are against right-wing politics.