Nowhere can football be discussed better, faster and more pointedly than on Twitter. But the takeover of the Social Networks by Elon Musk has significantly changed the platform. The Bundesliga clubs are also noticing this.
July 8, 2014 – World Cup semi-final Germany against Brazil. A historic evening – also for Twitter. A record was set there that evening: The German team’s 7-1 victory was the most commented on sporting event up to that point – and that was already at halftime.
Sports and Twitter are made for each other. At that time, every sporting event worldwide could be commented on in real time in just 140 characters. Everything that was needed: a smartphone, the app with the blue bird, internet – and some way to follow the game. Twitter was the international campfire of sports fans.
Bundesliga teams were there early
Many Bundesliga clubs were there early on and have had at least one since 2009 Account there, have developed a large and loyal fan base over the years. Above all, FC Bayern Munich, which has 7 million on its German channel alone Accounts follow, with BVB (4.4 million) and Schalke (almost 790,000) a long way behind.
Twitter is the one place to be for football fans who want to be very close and no News want to miss their club. The clubs know this too. “A very lively, creative and humorous community has developed around SC Preußen Münster, with whom we enjoy exchanging ideas intensively.” This is how many of the press officers responded to a request from sportschau.de to all clubs in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga.
Drastic about-face under Elon Musk
The network is now no longer called Twitter, but rather “X”, is no longer blue, but black – and the little bird was shot down by a multi-billionaire from the USA: Elon Musk. He has been the sole owner of the platform for almost exactly two years and has redesigned it according to his wishes.
Shortly after the takeover, under the pretext of absolute freedom of speech, Musk had the accounts of previously blocked right-wing extremists reactivated, even though they spread hate speech and threats of violence. In the same week, the American recorded “Center for Countering Digital Hate” (CCDH) a tripling of hate speech against black people and People of colourhomosexuals, women and Jews.
Moderation extremely reduced
The network was massively restructured within the company. Many employees were laid off. As a result, moderation was almost completely dispensed with. Contracts with companies that were supposed to identify and delete hate speech, racism, anti-Semitism, depictions of violence or sexual abuse against children were terminated. Apparently these tasks are now being taken over by artificial intelligence.
However, experience shows that things are rarely deleted – even if the content clearly violates human rights.
Clubs view developments with concern
Those responsible at the Bundesliga clubs are also aware that the platform has changed significantly. This is what VfL Bochum writes: “The spread of fake news, insults and racist statements is rarely stopped, but reporting and blocking is complicated or often unsuccessful.”
Although it was difficult to report hate speech and have it deleted on Twitter, it is almost impossible on X, also because there are no human contacts.
Musk himself is a driver of Conspiracy stories
In addition to anti-Semitic statements and hatred against his own daughter, Musk himself is currently spreading conspiracy stories regarding the upcoming US election and warning of alleged election fraud if the Democrats win. Musk is supporting Donald Trump’s election campaign, which called for the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, with millions.
Developments that also concern the press officers at Bayer 04 Leverkusen: “We observe with concern the increasing radicalization and unpredictable direction that Elon Musk is giving the platform.” This also applies to Musk’s political statements, which would increasingly influence not only user perception but also the reliability of the platform.
“Musk has turned Platform X into a political weapon”comments journalist Martin Fehrensen from Social Media Watchblog the development. “He was never interested in building a profitable company out of Twitter. From the beginning, Musk’s goal was to silence progressive voices.”
Sports like Economic factor for the platform
Content from sports clubs and Events play a big role for X. In a presentation from X to potential advertisers in 2023, it can be seen that sports generate by far the most content. This is certainly interesting for companies, because a large number of potential customers can be reached here. This means: The content of Bundesliga clubs and their fans is an economic factor for X itself.
Conversely, this also applies to clubs: high reach on social media makes them attractive to sponsors. The greater the reach, the more fans see the advertising messages. This means cash for the clubs, as these reach levels are relevant factors in the media contracts.
The Bundesliga clubs are facing a dilemma
At the same time, many German clubs see themselves as part of a democratic basis. They actively stand up against racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia – values that Musk tramples on. For some clubs, this is exactly the reason why they – still – want to stay on the platform: “We clearly reject Musk’s right-wing populist statements and use X primarily for political counter-speech”for example, answers the press spokesman for FC St. Pauli when asked how the current developments on the platform are being monitored.
The question of why it is currently difficult to leave the platform is also answered similarly: “We as VfB Stuttgart (want) to continue to reach and interact with the fans via channel You have to look at the platform independently of its owner.
Football surrounded by Hoaxes and disinformation
Alone, that’s difficult. “Due to Musk’s great popularity and the broad reporting on the purchase of the platform, in my opinion, the network and the person are not separated among the recipients.” says media scientist Inga Oelrichs. And social media expert Fehrensen points out: “Social media platforms are never neutral. Non-democratically elected, white, extremely privileged, middle-aged men determine which content gets how much reach. At X it is primarily the content of Musk himself or content that corresponds to his ideas.”
Elon Musk at a campaign rally for Donald Trump
Hashtags Match fixtures are also regularly hijacked to spread disinformation. Be it the war against Ukraine or Israel’s expanding war in Gaza and Lebanon. Fans who follow these hashtags will automatically be exposed to this content.
credibility difficult to verify from sources
The question arises as to whether this is an adequate environment in which to present yourself as a club on the platform. Especially since it has become difficult to check the credibility of sources since everyone can buy blue or gold hooks.
“When marketing via social media, the Bundesliga clubs primarily focus on economic interests”says media scientist Oelrichs with a view to the international market: “It is certainly not in the clubs’ interest to support disinformative content on X.”
When asked when there would be a reason to leave the platform, Bayer 04 Leverkusen replied: “If Musk’s political positioning, promotion of controversial or polarizing content, or fundamental policy changes result in our posts being pushed into the background or associated with inappropriate topics, we would need to reconsider our use of the platform.”
There is no alternative
Stay or go? This is never an easy question. But it is high time to ask yourself how many red lines still have to be crossed before it says: this far and no further. For Fehrensen it is clear: “X not only belongs to Elon Musk, the platform has become Musk’s most important tool for making himself and his radical views fully heard. Democrats have no place there anymore.”
Of course, there is a lot at stake for the clubs. You have to think economically. And so far, many media executives write, there is no suitable alternative. Communities cannot be moved easily. It takes a long time to build similar reach elsewhere. Some clubs are currently trying out BlueSkyothers have WhatsApp-Discovered channels for yourself.
Explosive potential for democracies
But the truth is also: Bundesliga clubs and their content are being exploited. They feed a network that not only allows disinformation, hate speech and human rights violations, but actively supports them. “Elon Musk is the most powerful and dangerous political influencer in the world”says Martin Fehrensen. “He could become a stirrup holder for a racist, authoritarian and anti-democratic US president.”
This platform is therefore suitable for destroying democracies. This also applies to the 2025 federal election in Germany. Perhaps it is high time to publicly discuss the question of whether and for how long X can continue to be a platform for peaceful coexistence – not only, but also for football clubs and their fans.
