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AfD's Berlin-Lichtenberg Facebook page posted the image one day after the European elections, to signify a split in their country, prompting anger and outrage.

The image coloured eastern states in the AfD's blue colour and labelled it the "Republic of Germany", while the west and south – where the party had less support – was coloured in green, labelled as the "German Caliphate" and emblazoned with a black flag that resembles that of the Islamic State group. 

The image, which was captioned "pictures speak louder than words", was deleted several hours later but screenshots of it continued to circulate online prompting outrage.

"They are so sick," one user on Twitter .

"For me, both AfD and caliphate are the same. Both are stupid humans destroying humanity. Ones with hatred of others' thinking and looking, while others on rivals' ideas," another user . 

"If I had to live under AfD in something titled "The Federal Republic of Germany", then I would take the green caliphate, please. There is sun and delicious food!" another user .

The AfD, Alternative for Germany party, was founded in 2013 and first elected to Germany's national parliament in 2017.

The party received 11 percent of the German vote in the European elections, putting it fourth place overall.

Germany, like other western countries, has watched with alarm as racist hate speech and violence have increased in recent years while the political climate has coarsened and grown more polarised.

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