Comedian Stephen Colbert popularized and redefined the word “truth” on The Colbert Show in 2005 to refer to things one feels to be true, regardless of conflicting facts. The word quickly caught on and was named Word of the Year in 2006. Colbert invented the word without realizing it already existed and intended it as a criticism of American politicians’ appeals to emotion. The word has taken on a life of its own, with some deviating from its original meaning. A related word is “Wikiality,” described as truthfulness by consensus.
Truth is a word that was popularized and redefined by comedian Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Show in 2005. According to Colbert’s definition, truth refers to things that one knows to be true, regardless of troublesome information such as facts and analysis that might provide conflicting information. Truth, in other words, is something you feel in your gut. The word quickly caught on, with a number of media outlets adding it to their reports, and in 2006 it was named Word of the Year by both the American Dialect Society and the Merriam-Websters Dictionary.
While uses of the word date back to the early 1800s, Colbert’s definition has become much better known and, in all likelihood, he invented the word without realizing it already existed. Reports indicate that Colbert made up the “truth” shortly before the episode it aired in, wanting to come up with a particularly ridiculous word for the segment of the show known as The Wørd.
In an interview when asked about the veracity, Colbert explained that he intended to use the word as a criticism of the constant appeals to emotion used by many American politicians. He also pointed out that facts seem to matter less and less in the United States, citing this as a disturbing trend. In the segment where the word was introduced, he said that “…we are divided between those who think with their heads and those who know with their hearts.”
The Colbert Report may be a satirical show, but its commentary on American culture and politics is often very astute. While the truth originally emerged as a quick sound commentary for a segment on the show, the word quickly took on a life of its own. “Truthiness” even created wars of words and a memorable standoff between Colbert and the Associated Press, which used the word in a report without crediting Colbert.
Thanks to the widespread dissemination of the word, truthfulness appears everywhere, including entirely legitimate articles and comments. Some of the uses of his word have deviated from its original meaning, although they do capture the spirit of satire and criticism that “truth” was meant to imply. Some Colbert fans point out that truth is a serious threat to the United States, citing things like the spurious invasion of Iraq as the consequences of truth being taken to extreme levels.
A closely related word is “Wikiality,” a portmanteau of “Wikipedia” and “reality,” which is described as a form of truthfulness by consensus.
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