Stephen Colbert took a deep dive into a bizarre story making the rounds: a claim that Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) had sex with a couch.

“Where does someone even get an idea like that?” Colbert said. “I blame those filthy IKEA instructions!”

The “Late Show” host saluted The Associated Press for running a fact-check debunking the claim, saying there’s no evidence Vance ― who is Donald Trump’s running mate ― ever described such an act, as claimed.

“This just shows how big a problem misinformation can be. Even a well-meaning fact-check can wind up amplifying a false story, so all of us, all of us, please, have responsibility to stop the spread of vicious rumors like ‘JD Vance had sex with a couch.’” he said. “Because it’s simply not true, which is why we have to refuse to use the hashtag #CushionPushinJDVance.”

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before plenty of people were using that hashtag on X.

But then Colbert discovered a “disturbing twist” to the story: The AP pulled its fact-check down.

“Which can mean only one of two things: Either the original story does not meet the AP’s rigorous standards,” he said. “Or JD Vance had sex with a couch!”

See more in his Thursday night monologue: