Apple Daily Hong Kong

Apple Daily (Chinese: 蘋果日報; Jyutping: ping4 gwo2 jat6 bou3) was a Chinese-language newspaper published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021, with an English-language online edition launched in 2020.^[4][5] Founded by Jimmy Lai and part of Next Media, Apple Daily was known for introducing tabloid journalism to Hong Kong and being the city's only mass-circulation newspaper with an editorial position that has been variously described as pro-democracy,^[6] anti-government,^[7] or anti-China.^[8] In a survey by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Apple Daily was the third most trusted paid newspaper in 2019.^[9] In a 2021 Reuters Institute poll, it ranked fourth offline and second online among the most-used news sources in Hong Kong.^[10]

Apple Daily's editorial position made it a subject of advertising boycotts and political pressure. After the Hong Kong national security law was enacted, police raided its headquarters on 10 August 2020.^[11] On 17 June 2021, Hong Kong authorities froze the assets of Lai and his company,^[12][13] which was described as an attack on press freedom^[14][15][16] and thus forced the paper to cease operations.^[17] The final issue was published on 24 June, with over one million copies being printed (up from the usual 80,000).^[18][19] The newspaper's YouTube channels were shut down at midnight on the same day.