False claims about Jan. 6 insurrection and 2020 presidential election rely on debunked information

As the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection approaches, false claims continue to attempt to recast that day’s events and question the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.

One such claim is a viral Facebook post that says, "Jan. 6 was NOT an insurrection…but Nov. 4 at 3 a.m. was!"

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

Politicians and media personalities have gone to great lengths to try to reframe the events of Jan. 6 — efforts so extensive that PolitiFact chose lies about the Capitol attack and its significance as the 2021 Lie of the Year.

Despite the efforts to downplay that day, Jan. 6 was an insurrection, with dozens of rioters armed with real and makeshift weapons trying to overturn the election. Extensive evidence includes video documentation and many eyewitness accounts.

On the flip side, the 2020 presidential election was not an insurrection. Joe Biden was legally elected president. Late-night spikes in voting results reflected the effort to count unprecedented numbers of mail-in ballots, and are not proof of election fraud.

The idea that the election was the "real" insurrection originated with former President Donald Trump, who first said it in early October. Then, on Oct. 21, Trump issued a statement that said, "The insurrection took place on November 3, Election Day. January 6 was the Protest!"

The Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol was not a protest; it was a historic attempt to subvert the results of an election. "Never before had Americans overtaken the Capitol to hold up electoral proceedings and threaten lawmakers," PolitiFact reported.

The 2020 presidential election was the focus of the insurrection and also at the center of a multitude of false claims. But there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud, and dozens of lawsuits seeking to overturn the election failed. Every state certified its results, and Biden won both the Electoral College and the popular vote.

The Facebook claim does not specify what occurred at 3 a.m. on Nov. 4. It could be a reference to false claims that surfaced in November 2020 that more than a million ballots with votes cast for Biden were "found" in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania in the middle of the night following the election.

Featured Fact-check

Social Media

stated on October 13, 2024 in social media posts

Video shows former Vice President Mike Pence endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

The claims were a misinterpretation of how mail-in ballots are counted, PolitiFact reported, and the numbers of ballots cited in such claims were exaggerated or incorrect.

For example, in Wisconsin, election officials worked through the night following the election "to tally the unprecedented numbers of mail-in ballots, which under state law they were not allowed to start counting until Election Day," PolitiFact reported. And in Pennsylvania, there were no credible reports of 1 million mail-in ballots discovered in the night or at any time.

A Facebook post says, "Jan. 6 was NOT an insurrection…but Nov. 4 at 3 a.m. was!"

Jan. 6 was an insurrection, with dozens of rioters armed with real and makeshift weapons trying to overturn the election. An extensive body of evidence includes video documentation and many eyewitness accounts.

The 2020 presidential election was not an insurrection. Joe Biden was legally elected president. Late-night spikes in voting results reflected the effort to count unprecedented numbers of mail-in ballots and are not proof of fraud.

We rate this claim Pants on Fire!