Apple Daily

Apple Daily (simplified Chinese: 苹果日报; traditional Chinese: 蘋果日報; pinyin: píngguǒ rìbào; 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. 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, anti-government, or anti-China. In a survey by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Apple Daily was the third most trusted paid newspaper in 2019. In a 2021 Reuters Institute poll, it ranked fourth offline and second online among the most-used news sources in Hong Kong. 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. On 17 June 2021, Hong Kong authorities froze the assets of Lai and his company, which was described as an attack on press freedom and thus forced the paper to cease operations. The final issue was published on 24 June, with over one million copies being printed (up from the usual 80,000). The newspaper's YouTube channels were shut down at midnight on the same day.