1. A news article with an attached headline that's written for the purpose of being passed off as a significant piece of news; i.e. click bait.

2. A piece of news that resembles quality news but lacks thorough reasoning and explanation as to why it should be considered significant to the reader or viewer. Usually takes much less time and effort to write about then a significant piece of news; i.e. yellow journalism.

3. News that lacks basic citation and sourcing techniques, opting for unverified primary or secondary sources in order to increase the speed at which the article or social media post is published. Might be written for the intended purpose of progressing a personal stance on a subject that would otherwise be impossible if the news were properly sourced; i.e. fake news.

4. A cheap imitation of a piece of quality news. Written with lower grammatical and spelling standards than the original piece of quality news. Derived from primary source articles without proper citation back to the original article. Often found on sites with business practices that are based around publishing trending stories en masse as they begin to go viral online; i.e content farms.

6. Advertisements and editorials that are written with the intent to be seen as quality news. While they may contain a proper citation, they are often written and placed in such a manner that they go unnoticed by the average reader or viewer; i.e. advertorial.
"This story on the local news about a local dog show seems like knock off news and is a waste of my time."
by Stang February 15, 2017
Get the Knock Off News mug.