[11][12] Before he became editor, he was an freelance investigative journalist, working in television, including on BBC Panorama, World in Action, Channel Four Dispatches and MacIntyre Undercover.
The Deputy Director is Jemma Levene,[13] who previously worked as Head of Campaigns at Jewish cultural education charity SEED, and at the Orthodox Union in New York.
[25] Following the murder of Jo Cox, Hope not Hate launched a nationwide #MoreInCommon campaign, with the blessing of the MP's family, hosting meetings across the UK which focused on healing divisions which were caused by the EU Referendum, culminating in 85+ events on the weekend of 3/4 September 2016.
[26] In December 2016 The Guardian newspaper joined a Hope not Hate training workshop, revealing the work which was undertaken by its community workers on the doorsteps in south Wales.
[29] It has launched initiatives in support of British foods, Hate Crime Awareness Week, and reported extensively on the activities of the anti-Muslim counterjihad movement of Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller, and bloggers such as "Fjordman".
[33][34] Nick Lowles claimed in 2012 that politicians, including the Labour Party, need to address the way they talk about immigration and move away from encouraging "hate speech".
[35] Liz Fekete, of the Institute of Race Relations, has said that Lowles has not taken a hard enough line in rejecting narratives that portray Muslim men as disproportionately responsible for child sexual grooming.
[36] The organisation updated its research in February 2016, noting that: "Respondents to the new Fear and HOPE 2016 survey were much more positive about personal and national progress, more economically secure, and less anxious about identity change."
[37] Geller and Spencer had been due to speak at an English Defence League march in Woolwich, south London, where Drummer Lee Rigby was murdered.
[42] In 2023 Hope not Hate uncovered allegedly inflammatory historic social media posts made by Tory London mayoral candidate, Susan Hall.
[47][48] The documentary features undercover footage obtained from Hope not Hate journalist Harry Shukman and researcher Patrik Hermansson of well-funded far-right activists from the Human Diversity Foundation (HDF).
Undercover footage unmasked far-right activist and former private school teacher Matthew Frost, a leader of HDF and his connections to Andrew Conru who had funded the foundation with more than $1million.
[61] In November 2019, Hope not Hate said "An election has just been called for the 12th December 2019 and our priority is clear – we're going to be taking on Nigel Farage and his Brexit party, to make sure they don't win any seats.
"[66] In November 2019, Lowles was reported to have written to every member of Labour's National Executive Committee, urging them to bar suspended MP Chris Williamson from defending his seat at the following month's general election and to expel him from the party.
[74] In August 2019, Assistant Editor of the Daily Telegraph Philip Johnston criticised the group for not doing enough to acknowledge that the United Kingdom was "among the least racist, least extreme and most inclusive [countries] in the world".
[80][81][82] In response, Britain First issued a press release threatening "direct action" against any journalist repeating "any inaccuracies or lies peddled by Hope Not Hate".
[83] Prominent supporters of Hope not Hate have included businessman Alan Sugar, boxer Amir Khan, singer Beverley Knight, actress and screenwriter Meera Syal, TV presenter Fiona Phillips, MP [2015-19] and former anti-fascist organiser Ruth Smeeth, chef Simon Rimmer, songwriter Billy Bragg, entrepreneur Levi Roots, singer Speech Debelle, actress and singer Paloma Faith, presenter Dermot O'Leary, Baroness Glenys Kinnock, comedian Eddie Izzard, murdered MP Jo Cox,[84][85][86] and Swedish Tetra Pak heiress Sigrid Rausing.