Social media erupted in jokes and memes on Thursday after the Atlanta Falcons unveiled a logo that instantly drew comparisons with the imagery of Nazi Germany.

The logo – posted by the Falcons on the NFL team’s social media channels – shows the team’s old falcon symbol from the 1960s and 1970s, emblazoned on a background of red, white and black stripes.

The “throwback” design is being used in the run-up to Atlanta’s game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

But the design prompted an avalanche of comments from social media users who said it resembled iconography of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party.

The Falcons’ post revealing the design on X had attracted more than 26m views since being published early Thursday.

Comments beneath the post lampooned the logo mercilessly over its perceived Nazi resemblance.

“I must say, I was not expecting to wake up this morning to see that the Atlanta Falcons are preparing to invade Poland,” one user wrote.

Another referenced the Falcons’ notorious 2017 Super Bowl collapse against the New England Patriots.

“Falcons were up 28-3 at Dunkirk,” the user commented.

Others found ways to combine football terminology with second world war references. “Falcons leading the league in blitzkrieg,” one user joked.

“I give this a nein/10,” another wrote.

One commenter dubbed the team the “28-3rd Reich”, combining the Nazi reference with Atlanta’s infamous Super Bowl meltdown.

The Falcons’ throwback logo was intended as a tribute to the team’s original falcon emblem, used during the 1960s and 1970s. Photograph: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty Images

“Now they just need to hire Frank Reich and it’ll be complete,” another wrote, referring to the former NFL head coach.

Another user commented that after this weekend’s home game against San Francisco, the Falcons had “road games in Dunkirk, Normandy, and Stalingrad”.

Others suggested the Falcons might need to change the NFL’s “End Racism” end-zone slogan to “Start Racism”, while one commenter offered a new billing for Sunday’s matchup: “49ers vs 39ers.”

Several users mocked the Falcons as the “Bird Reich”.

The Falcons did not immediately comment on the logo.