Both these groups have “facts” that they can point to support their claims. Facts aren’t some divine truth. They can and are used to support the narratives people tell in their stories. Sometimes the same facts are used to support different sides.

And yes, we tell stories because that’s a very basic way we communicate with each other. Just spouting facts at people in a narrative (how is this different than a story?) isn’t really received by most people.

edit: I see you’re saying that facts should just tromp “narratives”, but I stand by the rest of what I said.