Consider “Zayd is standing.” One can understand Zayd and standing separately, but the report asserts that standing belongs to Zayd. It is this asserted relation that agrees or disagrees with reality.
Classical expressions such as “as it is” and “not as it is” refer to the actual state of affairs. They do not restrict truthful reporting to positive claims about existing objects. A negative proposition may also be true.
For example, “The door is not closed” is a true report if the door is indeed open. Both affirmation and negation require assessment against reality; the truth standard is broader than merely observing that something exists.