Stephen Colbert Claims “Post-Truth” is Just a “Truthiness” Ripoff

The Oxford English Dictionary has named “post-truth” their word of the year, and Stephen Colbert is outraged. Defined as, “Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief,” “post-truth” shares certain similarities with “truthiness,” a word Colbert created way back in 2006 on The Colbert Report.

“Truthiness” is defined as “the belief in what you feel to be true, rather than what the facts will support.” The two do sound awfully similar—and both all too relevant, in what is soon to be Donald Trump’s America—but Colbert has decided to behave graciously in defeat.

“Post-truth” was in the news this year because of Brexit and the 2016 election, both of which were influenced far more by feelings than facts. The fact that Colbert coined a similar term 10 years ago speaks to the startling prescience of what he was describing.

Check out the full clip above to watch Colbert react to his defeat with total grace and humility.