Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Fact check: Who is the founder of Factually?
Executive summary
The name “Factual/Factually/FACTUAL” refers to multiple distinct organizations, and available sources attribute different founders depending on which entity is meant. Gil Elbaz is identified as founder of the data company Factual (profiled in 2014), Wudan Yan is presented as founder of FACTUAL (a fact‑checking media outlet described in 2024), and Lina Forcier appears as co‑founder and CEO of a health startup called Factually Health (team pages referenced, with at least one source dated 2026). Clarifying which organization you mean requires checking the exact trade name and domain.
1. Why one name creates three competing origin stories — the naming tangle you didn’t expect
Multiple sources show different founders tied to similarly named organizations, which explains the conflicting claims. A 2014 profile identifies Gil Elbaz as the founder and CEO of a data platform called Factual that grew from Applied Semantics roots and aimed to steward global data [1]. Separately, a 2024 company “FACTUAL” lists Wudan Yan as its founder, a narrative journalist and fact‑checking entrepreneur [2]. Additionally, a health information startup named Factually (or Factually Health) lists Lina Forcier as co‑founder and CEO in organizational summaries [3] [4]. The overlap in names is the core source of confusion.
2. The Gil Elbaz account: a data veteran builds Factual to organize the world’s data
The earliest documented founder attribution in our material points to Gil Elbaz, described in a 2014 Forbes profile as the founder and CEO of Factual, with a background co‑founding Applied Semantics and selling it to Google [1]. That profile situates Factual as a data‑centric company focused on quality, accessibility, and stewardship of structured location and business data. This portrayal aligns with a tech‑industry agenda emphasizing scale, platform partnerships, and commercial data licensing, and the 2014 date shows this is the longest‑standing usage of the Factual brand in the dataset [1].
3. The Wudan Yan account: a fact‑checking media startup called FACTUAL
A distinct 2024 profile and company “About” page attribute the founder role to Wudan Yan, described as an award‑winning narrative journalist and media entrepreneur who built FACTUAL as a fact‑checking outlet [2]. This version frames the organization as journalism and verification‑focused, not a data provisioning company. The 2024 date suggests a more recent entity or rebranding, and the content emphasizes editorial credentials and fact‑checking practice rather than platform or commercial data services [2]. The framing indicates a civic‑journalism agenda centered on credibility and media accountability.
4. The Factually Health team: an AI health startup with co‑founders, not one singular founder
Separate materials reference Factually Health, where Lina Forcier is listed as co‑founder and CEO and the founding team includes multiple individuals [3] [4]. This indicates the “Factually” spelling can denote an AI‑driven health information platform rather than the other two entities. One source with a 2026 date lists several co‑founders [4]; although this postdates the October 22, 2025 fact threshold, the dataset includes it and the corporate structure presented shows a multi‑founder startup pattern and a health/AI mission distinct from both the data company and the fact‑checking outlet.
5. Corporate events that add to the naming confusion: acquisitions and press coverage
Press coverage complicates the record: an announcement about Yahoo’s 2022 acquisition of “The Factual” (an algorithm‑driven news rating company) appears in our sources but does not name a founder, and could be mistaken for any of the similarly named organizations [5]. This shows how acquisitions and headlines can collapse distinct brands into a single public impression, increasing misattribution risk when searching for a founder without precise identifiers like domain or legal name.
6. What to check next — practical steps to resolve which founder is correct for your query
To determine which founder answers your question, verify the exact trade name, domain, or industry: if you mean the data platform Factual, Gil Elbaz is the documented founder [1]; if you mean the fact‑checking outlet FACTUAL, Wudan Yan is named as founder in 2024 materials [2]; if you mean Factually Health, co‑founder Lina Forcier is identified [3] [4]. Check official company pages, domain WHOIS, and corporate filings for legal entity names to avoid conflating similarly spelled brands.
7. How agendas and source timing shape these founder attributions
Source agendas matter: a 2014 Forbes profile frames Factual through a venture‑tech lens and highlights founder pedigree and commercialization [1], whereas the 2024 fact‑checking site emphasizes journalistic credibility and the founder’s editorial experience [2]. The Yahoo acquisition press release from 2022 centers corporate strategy, omitting founder detail [5]. These differences show how coverage focus and timing influence who gets named and why, and why cross‑checking multiple contemporaneous sources matters.
8. Bottom line and recommended citation for your use
The short answer: there is no single correct founder without specifying which “Factual/Factually/FACTUAL” you mean. For the data company, Gil Elbaz is the founder [1]. For the fact‑checking outlet, Wudan Yan is presented as founder [2]. For the health startup, Lina Forcier is a co‑founder and CEO [3] [4]. Verify the specific organization by domain or legal name before citing a founder, and prefer primary pages (company About/legal filings) dated closest to your citation for the most reliable attribution.