Stephen Colbert asked his viewers if they'd read the WikiLeaks bombshell about the Hillary Clinton campaign buying the apartment under Donald Trump's so they could spy on him. Despite his realistic New York Times screenshot, he made that one up, he shrugged on Thursday's Late Show, "but you believed it for a second, because this election is f—ing insane. Stuff way crazier than that gets made up all the time and somehow becomes news." Colbert touched on the torrent of fake news polluting Facebook — much of it from Macedonia.
"No one knows what's true anymore, no one knows what reality is," he said, running though some of the actual conspiracy theories you may have already forgotten about this election. And since "it's become impossible to know what to believe," he said, "why not believe everything?" So Colbert literally put on a tinfoil hat, returned to his Truth Bunker, drank a little NyQuil, and spun some crazy and often amusing conspiracy theories using an impressive array of props. Some were about cats and dogs and Don McLean lyrics, but there were a few political ones thrown in as well. "Is it possible that we've all been groped by Donald Trump but just didn't feel it because of his tiny baby hands?" Colbert asked. "Why do Gary Johnson's voters still have to go to the polls on election day when they could just as easily flush their ballot down the toilet at home?" That last one's easy — to get to the other side (of 5 percent of the vote for the Libertarian Party). For the other puzzlers, watch below. Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Inside Siberia's 'megaslump' – and why it is getting biggerUnder The Radar The 'eerie sinkhole' is rapidly expanding and climate change is the reason why
-
'Is the death penalty racist? Of course it is.'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Today's political cartoons - May 8, 2024Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - social media guilt, gag orders, and more
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain PrizeSpeed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 winsspeed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughterspeed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopicsSpeed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
-
Taylor Swift to Miley Cyrus: female artists dominate 2024 GrammysSpeed Read SZA, Phoebe Bridgers and Lainey Wilson were also among the winners at LA gala
