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The cultural impact of The Colbert Report is varied and ranges from satirical praise of and references to Wikipedia, to attempts to name things after Stephen Colbert, and even to Colbert's running for the President of the United States.
In response to the "Better Know a District" segment, Rahm Emanuel, then the Democratic Caucus chair, instructed incoming freshmen not to do appearances on the show.[1] Colbert responded by issuing an "Editing Challenge" on his March 26, 2007 broadcast. The challenge directs viewers to the Colbert Nation website to obtain an extended interview with Colbert, conducted by Gwen Ifill, which viewers may then edit to make him look as ridiculous as the representatives.[2] However, The Colbert Report has never followed through on the contest, with not one entry being aired and no further reference to the contest ever being made on the show.
The Colbert Report has created new words. Besides "truthiness", Colbert has coined other terms including "freem", which is "freedom without the do, because I do it all for you."[3] Other words include: "eneagled", a blend of "enabled" and "eagle", thus meaning "to be given the characteristics of an eagle" and "mantasy", meaning male fantasies, such as running away from the wife to become free, a word to which Colbert claims to hold a trademark. Recently, he coined the word "engayify" meaning "to gay it up."[4]
Colbert has made repeated references on the show to Wikipedia, which he refers to as his favorite website, generally in "The Wørd" segment. Colbert's first reference to Wikipedia was on the July 31, 2006 broadcast, when "The Wørd" was Wikiality, defined as the concept that "together we can create a reality that we all agree on—the reality we just agreed on."[5] The premise of wikiality is that reality is what the wiki says it is.[6] He explained that on Wikipedia "any user can change any entry, and if enough users agree with them, it becomes true." He also told his viewers to go onto Wikipedia, in the article elephants, and to edit it so that it would say: "Elephant population in Africa has tripled over the past six months." The suggestion resulted in numerous incorrect changes to Wikipedia articles related to elephants and Africa. Editing of the concerned articles was restricted to prevent further unhelpful edits.
Other "Wørds" invented relating to Wikipedia include "Wikilobbying", regarding which Colbert explained "when money determines Wikipedia entries, reality has become a commodity", alluding to a case in which Microsoft allegedly hired someone to tamper with Wikipedia,[7] and "Self-determination", where corporations are allowed to act out their fantasies online by editing their own Wikipedia entries. Colbert described Wikipedia as "Second Life for corporations", saying if a corporation wants to pretend to be someone else online, then that is their business.[8]
In another episode, the guest Larry Emdur was discussing his new wiki where readers can share their musical compositions. Colbert compared this to "wiki-wiki-wikipedia."
On May 24, 2007, the guest was Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia. Stephen Colbert called Wikipedia a "battlefield for information", a tool which "brings democracy to information" and moves away from the views of the "elite who study things and got to say what is or is not real". During the interview, Colbert showed a sentence on the screen: "Librarians are hiding something." Wales could not see it, with the implication that Wales could not stop a critical mass of individuals from editing a page according to the dictates of one influential individual. Wales responded that "the interesting thing about The Colbert Report is that Wikipedians watch it."[9]
On June 9, 2008, Colbert mentioned Warren G. Harding as being a "secret negro president", and said that for proof, "the G stands for Gangsta" which he changed on Wikipedia in order to be able to cite a source.[10] This resulted in various attempts at vandalism to support Colbert's claim.
In 2006, the Ministry of Transport of Hungary launched an online call for public suggestions to name a future motorway bridge over the Danube, just north of Budapest. Ministry officials said the Hungarian Geographical Name Committee would choose from among the three submitted candidates with the most votes, guided by suggestions submitted by "local governments, cartographers, linguists, and other experts".[11] Users offered hundreds of suggestions, among them the "'You Can Go To Bratislava But Not Over This Bridge' Bridge" and the "Chuck Norris Bridge", which led in votes for some time.[12] Colbert noted the effort in his "Tip of the hat, wag of the finger" segment on August 9,[13] and in the following weeks, he continued to ask viewers to vote for him. On August 22, Hungarian news sites reported Colbert had won the first round of voting with 17,231,724 votes,[14] which is 7 million more people than there are in all of Hungary. Hungary changed the voting rules after the members of the Colbert Nation Forums developed a bot to stuff the ballot box, requiring registration to vote in the second phase. That night, Colbert asked his viewers to cease their efforts,[15] and offered apologies,[15] spending a segment honoring Hungary, its history, and its contributions to the world.[16]
On September 14, 2006 Colbert introduced his guest András Simonyi, Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary to the United States. The ambassador presented Mr. Colbert with a declaration certifying him as the winner of the second and final round of voting. The document bore the signatures of Hungarian government officials and the country's official seal.[17] Included in the text, as read by the ambassador, were two important conditions required for the name of the bridge to be made official. First, Colbert must be fluent in Hungarian. Colbert responded by pronouncing the Hungarian name Nicholas Zrinyi (incorrectly referring to Miklós Zrínyi) and híd (meaning 'bridge' in Hungarian); Simonyi quickly certified him as fluent.[18] The second requirement proved more onerous: in order to have the bridge named after him, Colbert would have to be deceased. Colbert protested, but the ambassador presented him with a Hungarian passport and 10,000 Hungarian Forint (HUF), noting that this would allow Colbert to enter Hungary at any time, without restriction. He also brought attention to the portrait of King St. Stephen, the first King of Hungary, on the 10,000 HUF bill. Finally Simonyi implied that the question of Colbert's ineligibility by virtue of being alive might be resolved if Colbert were to accept an invitation to visit the bridge site in Budapest; Colbert responded by trying to bribe the ambassador with the 10,000 HUF bill.[18] On September 28, 2006, it was announced that the bridge will be named "Megyeri Bridge", although the name did not make it to the second round. According to the Geographical Name Committee, the name was selected because the bridge connects Káposztásmegyer with Békásmegyer.[19]
In February 2007, Ben & Jerry's unveiled a new ice cream flavor in honor of Stephen Colbert, named Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream. Colbert waited until Easter to sample the ice cream because he "gave up sweets for Lent."[20] Colbert will donate all proceeds to charity through the new Stephen Colbert AmeriCone Dream Fund, which will distribute the money to various causes.[21]
Colbert sometimes implicitly suggests that his fans remix various aspects of his show simply by telling them not to remix it. In January 2009, he told viewers to not remix his interview with Lawrence Lessig, founder of Creative Commons, which lets original authors of creative works share their music with the world.[22]. This type of fan involvement is similar to the Colbert Green Screen Challenge, which focuses on video content editing.[23] As organizations like Creative Commons gain a foothold in society, the notion of shared authorship and free use becomes more widespread.
On October 16, 2007, Colbert announced on The Report that he would be running for president. He had chosen no vice-president, though he was considering choosing Vladimir Putin, Mike Huckabee, or himself as his running mate.[24] Also, he was only running in South Carolina, his home state. Another oddity of his campaign is the fact that he was contemplating running for both the Republican and Democratic parties as a "favorite son".[25][26] Colbert covered his story in the segment "The Hail to the Cheese Stephen Colbert NachoCheese Doritos 2008 Presidential Campaign Coverage", and promoted his campaign on his special election website colbert08.org, as under law he cannot use colbertnation.com.[27]
On October 21, 2007, Colbert appeared on NBC's Meet The Press where he was interviewed by the host, Tim Russert. The highlights included Colbert explaining why he changed the pronunciation of his name (from "Cole-Bert" to "Cole-Bear"), his demanding to know whether Russert believes that God supports our enemies in Iraq, and his revealing that he had no interest in winning the Presidency (he just wanted to run).
On November 1, 2007, the executive council of the South Carolina Democratic Party voted 13-3 to keep his name off the ballot, and refunded his US$2500 filing fee.[28] By November 5, 2007, Colbert had officially dropped his Presidential bid.[29]
In 2008, East Carolina University associate professor Jason Bond named a species of trapdoor spider Aptostichus stephencolberti in honor of Stephen Colbert.[30]
On the July 21, 2008 episode of The Colbert Report, Colbert made a comment about John McCain making a campaign stop in Canton, Ohio, and "not the crappy Canton in Georgia."[31] The comment resulted in a local uproar, with the Canton, Georgia mayor insisting Colbert had never visited the town along with an invitation for him to do so.[31]
On July 30, 2008, Colbert apologized for the story, insisting that he was incorrect and that the real crappy Canton was Canton, Kansas, after which he made several jokes including calling the town a "shit hole" at the Kansas town's expense.[32][33][34] Reaction from Mayor Brad Smiley and local residents was negative,[35] while Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius invited Colbert to spend a night in Canton's historic jail.[36]
On August 5, 2008, Colbert apologized to the citizens of Canton, Kansas, he then maintained that he had meant to direct his mock derision towards Canton, South Dakota, by calling it "North Dakota's dirty ashtray" and satirizing the town in song.[37][38]
On August 12, 2008 Colbert once again apologized to his latest comedic target even though local reaction to the insult was fairly mild. Referring to a line from his satirical song, Colbert said that not all the dogs run away from Canton, South Dakota but "some stay and develop a drinking problem."[39] However, as with the previous apologies, he began a new tirade on another Canton. According to Colbert, Canton, Texas is nothing but an "incorporated outhouse" and "one steaming pile of longhorn dung." He then asked the audience if they'd seen the town's tourism video. A video then promptly followed showing a monkey humping another monkey with the words Canton, Texas placed in the corner and an arrow pointing from the name to the monkey on bottom.[40] This jab at the Texas town had been predicted by Governor Sebelius at the end of her July 31, 2008 remarks.[41] In response to Colbert's comments, a Canton, Texas city councilman joked that he wanted Colbert to come there so he could "mash his nose".[42]
On October 28, 2008, Colbert reacted to the news that Barack Obama was campaigning for president in Canton, Ohio — the original good Canton — by saying that he was forced to admit that Canton, Ohio in fact was the real crappy Canton all along.[43]
The "Colbert Bump" is defined, connotatively by the Report, as an increase in popularity of a person (author, musician, politician, etc.) or thing (website, etc.) as a result of appearing as a guest on, or being mentioned/related to, the Report itself. For example, if a politician appears on The Colbert Report, they may become more popular with certain voters and thus are more likely to be elected. According to the American Political Science Association, contributions to Democratic politicians rose 40% for 30 days after an appearance on the show.[44] The Mozilla Foundation also experienced a noticeable spike in the download rates of the Firefox browser right after the launch of Firefox 3 was mentioned in the program.[45] Magazines such as GQ, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated have all had sales spikes when Colbert appeared on their covers.[46]
A cocktail called the Colbert Bump was designed during the August 4th, 2009 episode of The Colbert Report by author David Wondrich. The recipe for a Colbert Bump includes one ounce of Cherry Heering liqueur, one and a half ounces of gin, a quarter of an ounce of lemon juice, and a little soda water.[47]
In March 2009, NASA ran an online contest to name the new node of the International Space Station. Colbert encouraged his viewers to write in his name. By the end, 230,539 "Colbert" votes were cast. This beat Serenity, the top NASA choice, by more than 40,000 votes.[48] On April 14, 2009, Astronaut "Suni" Sunita Williams appeared on The Colbert Report, and announced the name of the node to be Tranquility. However, the treadmill the astronauts use to work out on will be named "C.O.L.B.E.R.T." for "Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill" and this will be located in Tranquility.[49]
In the likely event that Node 3 is not named “Colbert” the Mars Society offered to temporarily rename their Mars Desert Research Station “Colbert,” for one week in April.[50]
On March 17, 2009, Colbert announced that the show would be broadcasting from somewhere in the Persian Gulf at some future date. He did not reveal where and when the taping would occur, as that would have presented a security breach. As part of this he made a segment called "Where in the world and when in time is Stephen Colbert gonna be in the Persian Gulf?" In it he offered vague clues to the location via a Press Your Luck board, and described the location being somewhere "sandy" and "packed with troops".[51] He repeatedly alluded to places he might go, but refused to divulge specific details. On the May 4 show, Star Trek director J. J. Abrams appeared as a guest, and revealed that he had found out where Colbert was headed and had hidden clues to the location throughout the broadcast, leaving it to the viewers to decipher their meaning.[52] On June 5, 2009, Colbert officially announced that "Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando" would be taping and performing shows in Iraq from June 8 to June 11, 2009, making The Colbert Report the first TV show in USO history to produce a week of shows in a combat zone.[53] The shows were filmed at Camp Victory in the Al-Faw Palace.
Colbert's head was shaved on stage by General Raymond T. Odierno, Commander of the Multinational Force - Iraq, at the videotaped order given by President Barack Obama during the first of four taped performances that were aired June 8, 2009 through June 11, 2009.[54] He wore a civilian two-piece suit, but with a twist: it was tailored from United States Army's UCP digital camouflage pattern and featured an American Flag and Private rank insignias on the sleeves. Vice President Joe Biden and Senators John McCain and Jim Webb made special appearances, as did former GOP Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin and former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and George H.W. Bush. Actor Tom Hanks was also featured heavily in a pre-recorded segment encouraging viewers to support care packages for the troops. At the start of all four episodes filmed in Iraq, Stephen Colbert carried a golf club on stage to honor Bob Hope's decades-long service, 250 years according to Colbert, for the USO across the world.
On November 2, 2009, Colbert, representing the Colbert Nation, signed a sponsorship agreement on-air with U.S. speedskating executive director Robert Crowley after learning of the loss of the team's prominent sponsor: Dutch bank DSB. The specifics of this sponsorship are unclear.[55] The change of the logo of the U.S. speed skating team's cap, from DSB to Colbert Nation was later shown in the November 12th episode and further episodes. Colbert has also taken aim at Canada, mocking and insulting them, claiming they aren't giving the speed skaters adequate ice time at Olympic rink in Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympics. The city of Richmond, where the Olympic Oval is located, had responded with a letter inviting him to be the official ombudsman at the oval for the Olympics, under the condition that he wear the official ombudsman headgear (a pink toque) at all times.[56]
Benjamin Creme, identified the Maitreya as having been born in 1972, traveled to London from India in 1977, being dark-skinned, and having a stutter. After Raj Patel, the author of the recent book "The Value of Nothing," appeared on the show, he was identified as such messiah. In the March 15, 2010 show, Colbert claimed this was product of a Colbert Bump and called Patel to confirm his status as the deity, which the author denied. However, Creme predicted he would.[57][58]
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