Factfolk are people with identities related to factual, this-world things. This includes people (both living and dead, famous or not), specific animals (like a specific famous dog as opposed to a dog therian in general), buildings and other places, personifications of real things (like countries), and anything else that is (or one considers to be) this-world real. Not all people with identities rooted in factual things identify as factfolk (a person who identifies as the ocean may not consider themselves factkin for example), but this can be a part of the identity.

Factfolk encompasses a wide variety of identities! For ease of keeping this short, I’m using “something factual” as shorthand for “a factual being, place or concept that exists or has existed in real life/this world”.

This includes (but is not limited to):

Factkin/Factualkin - Similar to otherkin, factkin are people who identify as something factual which their current body/life does not represent. For example, someone who identifies as a specific historical figure. Factualkin was made as an alternative that wasn’t coined by trolls.

Factive - A member of a plural system who is (or is based on) a real person or thing. These can also be called factual introjects or just introjects, though those labels tend to have medical connotations.

Fucktive/Faitive - A member of a plural system who is (or is based on) something both factual and fictional, such as a YouTuber’s persona or an actor playing themselves in a film, or a factive of a real person who is fictionfolk (such as a fictive).

Facthearted - A person who identifies with (not as) something factual. This can include experiences like having a very strong connection to, having it connect to your sense of self, and more.

Factlinking - The act of voluntarily identifying as something factual.

Identity theft is a specific crime, in which someone uses your identity and/or personal information to gain money or other benefits. Which is definitely not committed by simply identifying as someone else!

A better argument would be that it’s impersonation, but even then, that’s not what fact-identity is either. Impersonation is pretending to be someone else. Factfolk aren’t “pretending”, and actually distinguish themselves from their real-world counterparts by virtue of being factfolk, and using labels associated with it. Factfolk don’t claim to be the this-world version of their source, they’re themselves.

Fictionfolk don’t infringe on the copyright of their source by simply having that identity or expressing it, and factfolk don’t infringe on the rights of their sources in the same way.

The label was, yes. However, folks within the community do identify as factkin and use the term genuinely to describe their experiences. Some have opted to use other labels to avoid using a term that was coined by trolls, but others opt to use the original term regardless. The experience of having a factbased identity isn’t diminished by what term folks use to describe it, or how that term came about. The experience itself wasn’t created by trolls, much like the experience of being dragonkin wasn’t created by trolls making posts about their fabricated experience with it.

For some? Sure. The same way some otherkin, therians, plurals, or alterhumans in general might “just” be caused by a delusion.

An identity being rooted in delusion isn’t an excuse to diminish the experiences of that person, however. Some factfolk are delusional, but they experience being factfolk anyway–the same way any other alterhumans experience their identity. You can’t prove (most) alterhumanity, so what’s the point in trying to argue who’s actually delusional or not? Would your experiences and how you live your life change if you were, or would you still be you at the end of the day?

But no, it’s not “just” a delusion even if some are caused that way. Some see it as a spiritual origin–past lives, parallel lives, walk-ins, etc. Some see it as psychological (and factives are even a medically recognised phenomenon!), some don’t care where it comes from. The origins factfolk ascribe to their identities are just as varied as other identities under the alterhuman umbrella.

Does someone who is fictionkin actually think they’re the real [source]? Does a wolf therian think they’re a real wolf? The answer is usually “well yeah obviously, but not in the way you’re thinking”.

Like with fictionfolk, there can be more than one person who identifies the same way. No one of them is more “real” than the other. It’s a little different from factfolk, but the experience generally is really similar. You can be real and assured your identity is real, while your source is out there as the this-world version of them–these do not cancel each other out!

So, yeah. Factfolk can identify as their source, while still being well aware that the “real”, this-world version of that person/place/thing is not them. This doesn’t make factfolk less real.

See the above.

But beyond that, there’s some reasons. Some believe in multiple versions of this world, aka they believe they’re another universes’ version of their fact-identity. Some believe they reincarnated. Some believe it’s a psychological attachment. Some believe it’s a delusion. Some just don’t care and identify that way anyway.

The existence of a source doesn’t negate ones’ own identity, the same way the existence of a videogame doesn’t negate the experience of a fictionfolk.

This isn’t a question but it’s common enough to put here. This is a statement, and a personal one that generally is something factfolk can’t do anything about. It’s unlikely that you’ll meet someone who has a fact-identity related to yourself, though it’s possible and can happen. If you do end up meeting one? The solution is to curate your own online experience. Block them, move on.

Factfolk of any kind don’t need to have lived your life or known you personally. The fact-identity isn’t based in inherent knowledge about all of your inner workings you’ve never shared with the world, it’s based in what you have put out there.

Once again, it’s similar to fictionfolk. You don’t see every moment of a character’s inner monologue, life, or day-to-day. Sometimes you see a character in a screenshot once, and an identity forms around that regardless of having no information at all. Sometimes as a result, their noemata fill those gaps–even contrary to canon material–which can be different even between folks who identify the same way. This doesn’t change the canon material or what’s written in it, and it doesn’t mean the fictionfolk is fake or wrong either. The identity is based on what has been seen, not those gaps. Factfolk are roughly the same, just with real people/things instead of fiction.

So a factive or other factfolk might be nothing like you at all, really! After all, they don’t know every part of you. This doesn’t diminish their identity, or yours.

Said every exclusionist (at best) ever.

Generally, factfolk shouldn’t have to be censored.

However? There’s some instances where you shouldn’t share your fact-identity (such as going out of your way to prod or tell your source about it), or some fact-identities that should be treated very carefully because of real-world history and how that history has affected people. You need to be cautious about it sometimes, and you need to be respectful when it involves real people.

But in general? If someone is uncomfortable with every instance of factfolk across the board, they should just use the block button. Or, even better, reevaluate their factmisia!