Fact was founded in 2003 as a print magazine. It commissioned covers by artists including
M.I.A.,
Bat for Lashes,
Shepard Fairey,
Barry McGee,
Peter Saville,
Trevor Jackson,
Klaxons, and Brazil's
Os Gemeos. It reached a peak circulation of 28,000 (25,000 UK and 3,000 overseas) and readership of 100,000+ per issue, having been available free from independent record stores, clothing outlets, and music/arts venues in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Japan. In 2007, some controversy was caused when
Dr Martens placed an advertisement in
Fact featuring manipulated photographs of a number of dead
rock musicians so that they appeared to be wearing the company's boots in heaven. When some of these musicians' families saw the advert, they reacted, leading Dr Martens to dismiss their advertising agency
Saatchi & Saatchi. In 2008, it discontinued the print edition, becoming exclusively an
online magazine. In November 2020,
Fact resumed producing a large format bi-annual print magazine, with editions in Autumn/Winter 2020, Fall/Winter 2021, and Spring/Summer 2022. ==Recognition==