I discovered, thanks to Wikipedia, that the word factum (where fact comes from) originally meant “a thing done or performed.” That meaning is no longer used today.
I also learned that facts in math, science, philosophy, law, and rhetoric all take on different meanings given different applications.
For example “facts” in jurisprudence have different meanings and standards compared to “facts” in science which are often the result of objective and verifiable observations. And political rhetoric is its own beast.
Methods for checking facts vary. In court that’s a jury, in some places it could be experimentation, using reason/logic, or even the fact that an authority argues the fact to be true.
I argue that a fact is nothing more than: a thing done that, for it to have full short or long run utility, must be subject to and survive cross examination.
I believe that bridges hard and social science, politics, arts, and even our judgments of every day life.
Feel free to be the finder of fact in that regard.