Game of Thrones: '#NoConfederate' Twitter campaign launched during show, HBO responds

Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss unveiled plans for a series that imagines the Southern states had successfully seceded from the Union and kept slavery legal

Sunday night Twitter in the US has recently been the reserve of Daenerys and Jon Snow chat, amidst the airing of season 7 of Game of Thrones.

However, HBO's most recent episode was aired amidst the launch of a massive campaign on the social media platform to protest Confederate, the recently announced next project from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, alongside writers Nichelle Tramble Spellman and Malcom Spellman.

April Reign, who also initiated the famous #OscarsSoWhite campaign back in 2015, was one of the organisers behind the protest; as supporters were asked to tweet #NoConfederate to HBO during its East and West Coast broadcasts of Game of Thrones.

Confederate sets itself in an alternate future leading up to a third American Civil War, where the Southern states have successfully seceded from the Union, kept slavery legal and evolved into a modern institution.

The hashtag became a worldwide trending topic during the East Coast broadcast. HBO released a response to the protest: "We have great respect for the dialogue and concern being expressed around Confederate. We have faith that Nichelle, Dan, David, and Malcom will approach the subject with care and sensitivity."

"The project is currently in its infancy so we hope that people will reserve judgement until there is something to see."

HBO programming president Casey Bloys recently said that Confederate's announcement was "misguided", adding that it was a mistake to announce an idea that "so sensitive and requires such care and thought on the part of the producers in a press release".

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