Originally a book publishing house, the firm became a global market leader in the development of materials that supported gay self-confidence and lifestyle.

Bruno Gmünder had purchased the latter in 1986 following financial difficulties with the former owner John D. Stamford,[4] as well as increasing evidence that the Guide was being used by paedophiles to abuse children in developing countries.

[7][non-primary source needed] In October 2012, the Bruno Gmünder Group offered a "bounty" of €15,000 for information leading to the investigation and final conviction of the operators of the right-wing extremist and homophobic blog kreuz.net.

[2] In December 2014, following reported discriminatory and right-wing populist statements from David Berger, the editor-in-chief of the Bruno Gmünder Verlag publication "Männer", the Deutsch AIDS-Hilfe (DAH) saw fit to cancel their advertising campaign with the magazine.

[4][5][6] A preliminary study conducted by an investigation commission in February 2021 highlighted the paedophile networks, structures and organisations in West Berlin from the 1970s onward.