---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not a truthiness fanatic, I'm…"
description: "\"I'm not a truthiness fanatic, I'm truthiness's father.\" — Stephen Colbert"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/stephen-colbert-503_fanatic_i-m-not-a-truthiness-fanatic-i-m-truthin_532754.png"
---

#  I'm not a truthiness fanatic, I'm truthiness's father.

![“I'm not a truthiness fanatic, I'm truthiness's father.” quote by Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/stephen-colbert-503_fanatic_i-m-not-a-truthiness-fanatic-i-m-truthin_532754.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/stephen-colbert-503_fanatic_i-m-not-a-truthiness-fanatic-i-m-truthin_532754.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/stephen-colbert-503_fanatic_i-m-not-a-truthiness-fanatic-i-m-truthin_532754.png)

> “I'm not a truthiness fanatic, I'm truthiness's father.”

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He jokes that he creates the concept of “truthiness,” mocking the misuse of feeling over facts.

**In simple terms:** He claims to be the origin of “truthiness.”

Key Takeaway

Question the basis of “truthiness” in discourse.

Themes

satire politics media criticism

Mood

sarcastic critical

Type

satirical commentary

When to use this quote

- news commentary
- political debate
- media literacy

Key Concepts

post‑truth cognitive bias

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “truthiness” reveal about public reasoning?
- How can we guard against “truthiness” in decisions?

A Different Perspective

Humor may obscure serious critique of misinformation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fanatics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fanatics/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/)

## Related quotes

> [“Fanatics are those who, when following a doctrine becomes inconvenient, make up rules of their own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathryn-louis/fanatics-are-those-who-when-following-a-doctrine-becomes-inconvenient/)

[Cathryn Louis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathryn-louis/)

> [I didnt really grow up a comic book fanatic. I was a big baseball player, and my passion in life, in third grade, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ritchson/i-didnt-really-grow-up-a-comic-book-fanatic-i-was-a-big-baseball/)

[Alan Ritchson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ritchson/)

> [There is nobody as enslaved as the fanatic, the person in whom one impulse, one value, has assumed ascendancy over all others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-sapirstein/there-is-nobody-as-enslaved-as-the-fanatic-the-person-in-whom-one/)

[Milton Sapirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-sapirstein/)

> [I am a fanatic! I feel a power within me...a fire that I may not quench, but must keep ablaze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/i-am-a-fanatic-i-feel-a-power-within-me-a-fire-that-i-may-not-quench/)

[Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/)

> [I'd been a fanatic of movies since I was a wee lad, so I got into the films before I got into the comics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-helman/i-d-been-a-fanatic-of-movies-since-i-was-a-wee-lad-so-i-got-into-the/)

[Josh Helman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-helman/)

> [I didn't really grow up a comic book fanatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ritchson/i-didn-t-really-grow-up-a-comic-book-fanatic/)

[Alan Ritchson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ritchson/)

> [The fanatic has the courage of his conviction and the intolerance of his courage. He is opposed to the death penalty for murder, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/the-fanatic-has-the-courage-of-his-conviction-and-the-intolerance-of/)

[Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/)

> [I think about fanaticism - oblivion awaits, especially for minor writers, so you have to be a fanatic; you have to be a crank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/i-think-about-fanaticism-oblivion-awaits-especially-for-minor-writers/)

[Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/)

> [Ive always been a health fanatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raquel-welch/ive-always-been-a-health-fanatic/)

[Raquel Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raquel-welch/)

> [I am a hip-hop fanatic, and rock fanatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-masterson/i-am-a-hip-hop-fanatic-and-rock-fanatic/)

[Danny Masterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-masterson/)

> [I think there was a petition online to get me involved in Doctor Who. Im not a Doctor Who fanatic, but I am a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-bellman/i-think-there-was-a-petition-online-to-get-me-involved-in-doctor-who/)

[Gina Bellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-bellman/)

> [A religious fanatic is somebody who knows Jesus Christ better than you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-kaat/a-religious-fanatic-is-somebody-who-knows-jesus-christ-better-than/)

[Jim Kaat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-kaat/)

> [I Am More Spiritual Than Religious; Besides I Am Not A Fanatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aamir-khan/i-am-more-spiritual-than-religious-besides-i-am-not-a-fanatic/)

[Aamir Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aamir-khan/)

> [I'm a London fanatic. That's my city. I love being from there, you don't appreciate it until you go out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/i-m-a-london-fanatic-that-s-my-city-i-love-being-from-there-you-don-t/)

[John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/)

> [The fanatic is dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-fanatic-is-dangerous/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

## More by Stephen Colbert

> [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [We all deserve credit for this new surveillance state that we live in because we the people voted for the Patriot Act. Democrats and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/we-all-deserve-credit-for-this-new-surveillance-state-that-we-live-in/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [I've long been against illegal aliens, partly because they distract us from an even bigger threat: real aliens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-ve-long-been-against-illegal-aliens-partly-because-they-distract-us/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Believe in me, cause I don't believe in anything, and I wanna be someone to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/believe-in-me-cause-i-don-t-believe-in-anything-and-i-wanna-be/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [It's August, which means Congress is on recess and Mitch McConnell has shimmied back into the ocean to seek a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-august-which-means-congress-is-on-recess-and-mitch-mcconnell-has/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Try to love others and serve others and hopefully find those who love and serve you in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/try-to-love-others-and-serve-others-and-hopefully-find-those-who-love/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Thirty seconds is the exact amount of time Americans can tolerate something they don't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/thirty-seconds-is-the-exact-amount-of-time-americans-can-tolerate/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [I used to make up stuff in my bio all the time, that I used to be a professional ice-skater and stuff like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-used-to-make-up-stuff-in-my-bio-all-the-time-that-i-used-to-be-a/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [I live by syllogisms: God is love. Love is blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God. I don't know what I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-live-by-syllogisms-god-is-love-love-is-blind-stevie-wonder-is-blind/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [“Unlike Paul Newman, who seems to think that salad dressing is the cure-all for America's ills, I'm a man of action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/unlike-paul-newman-who-seems-to-think-that-salad-dressing-is-the-cure/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. It’s sort of a blog for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/now-for-my-younger-viewers-out-there-a-book-is-something-we-used-to/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/jesus-forgives-sinners-not-criminals/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Used books are the sluts of the literary world. Passed around from person to person, spreading their pages for anyone, getting cheaper and cheaper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/used-books-are-the-sluts-of-the-literary-world-passed-around-from/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [“Divorce is a marital welfare. It's just couples asking society to bail them out because they didn't do enough research before they got married.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/divorce-is-a-marital-welfare-it-s-just-couples-asking-society-to-bail/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

[Explore all 514 Stephen Colbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

## More Fanatic quotes

> [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [Motherland is our property and we have right to handle our properties as pleased. The jokes about death for the sake of the motherland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/motherland-is-our-property-and-we-have-right-to-handle-our-properties/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [Your best friends are your principles, if you havent them, dont look for another friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/your-best-friends-are-your-principles-if-you-havent-them-dont-look/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [A strong saying is not afraid of criticism, because it includes all the answers to criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/a-strong-saying-is-not-afraid-of-criticism-because-it-includes-all/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [“Fanatics are those who, when following a doctrine becomes inconvenient, make up rules of their own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathryn-louis/fanatics-are-those-who-when-following-a-doctrine-becomes-inconvenient/)

[Cathryn Louis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathryn-louis/)

> [I didn't really grow up a comic book fanatic. I was a big baseball player, and my passion in life, in third grade, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ritchson/i-didn-t-really-grow-up-a-comic-book-fanatic-i-was-a-big-baseball/)

[Alan Ritchson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ritchson/)

> [A noble person stands up as though a theater curtain rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/a-noble-person-stands-up-as-though-a-theater-curtain-rises/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [The worst vice of a fanatic is his sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-worst-vice-of-a-fanatic-is-his-sincerity/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [I am a cookbook fanatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-bee/i-am-a-cookbook-fanatic/)

[Samantha Bee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-bee/)

> [I'm a London fanatic. That's my city. I love being from there, you don't appreciate it until you go out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/i-m-a-london-fanatic-that-s-my-city-i-love-being-from-there-you-don-t/)

[John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/)

> [I'm a racehorse fanatic rather than a football fanatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcmanaman/i-m-a-racehorse-fanatic-rather-than-a-football-fanatic/)

Steve McManaman

> [I am a sports fanatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urvashi-rautela/i-am-a-sports-fanatic/)

[Urvashi Rautela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urvashi-rautela/)

> [Subconsciously it is possible to act, consciously it is possible to decide and overconsciously to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/subconsciously-it-is-possible-to-act-consciously-it-is-possible-to/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [I Am More Spiritual Than Religious; Besides I Am Not A Fanatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aamir-khan/i-am-more-spiritual-than-religious-besides-i-am-not-a-fanatic/)

[Aamir Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aamir-khan/)

> [“Some people in orthodox churches in Africa take poverty as a path that leads to heaven, making christianity look unattractive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/some-people-in-orthodox-churches-in-africa-take-poverty-as-a-path/)

[Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/)

Browse all 214 Fanatic quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I'm not a truthiness fanatic, I'm truthiness's father.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Stephen Colbert"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-m-not-a-truthiness-fanatic-i-m-truthiness-s-father/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Fanatic"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-m-not-a-truthiness-fanatic-i-m-truthiness-s-father/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/stephen-colbert-503_fanatic_i-m-not-a-truthiness-fanatic-i-m-truthin_532754.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/stephen-colbert-503_fanatic_i-m-not-a-truthiness-fanatic-i-m-truthin_532754.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/stephen-colbert-503_fanatic_i-m-not-a-truthiness-fanatic-i-m-truthin_532754.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I'm not a truthiness fanatic, I'm truthiness's father.” — Stephen Colbert",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Stephen Colbert",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I'm not a truthiness fanatic, I'm...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-m-not-a-truthiness-fanatic-i-m-truthiness-s-father/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-m-not-a-truthiness-fanatic-i-m-truthiness-s-father/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```