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Colbert Nation Rules Facebook

Fictional presidential campaign rocks online fans

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 29, 2007 4:30 AM CDT

(Newser) – The Facebook group "1,000,000 Strong for Stephen T. Colbert" reached a million members in just over a week, making the organization devoted to the comedian's phony presidential campaign the fastest-growing political group in the four-year history of the social networking site. 

The 16-year-old student who founded the group expressed amazement at how much faster the Colbert group had grown than Facebook's Barack Obama group, which took eight months to reach 380,000 members, reports the New York Times. The sheer volume of enthusiasm for Colbert's "campaign" forced Facebook to take the group off line temporarily, with 83 new members a minute straining the web site's server capacity.

Stephen Colbert poses during the launch party for Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream, his new Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor, in this  March 5, 2007 file photo in New York. YouTube wants to question Comedy Central comedians Jon Stewart and Colbert as part of its defense against claims that the...
Stephen Colbert poses during the launch party for "Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream", his new Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor, in this March 5, 2007 file photo in New York. YouTube wants to question...   (Associated Press)
Stephen Colbert arrives at a dinner to celebrate Time 100, Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in this, May 8, 2006, file photo  in New York.  The host of The Colbert Report revealed on Thursday July 26, 2007 night's show that he broke his...
Stephen Colbert arrives at a dinner to celebrate Time 100, Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in this, May 8, 2006, file photo in New York. The host of "The Colbert...   (Associated Press)
Stephen Colbert poses for photographers during the Comedy Central party, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007, in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Rene Macura)
Stephen Colbert poses for photographers during the Comedy Central party, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Rene Macura)   (Associated Press)
Stephen Colbert poses during the launch party for Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream, his new Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor, Monday, March 5, 2007 in New York. Colbert isn't saying he's running for president _ but claims he is thinking about it, and even has a running mate already picked...
Stephen Colbert poses during the launch party for "Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream", his new Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor, Monday, March 5, 2007 in New York. Colbert isn't saying he's running for...   (Associated Press)
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