Doty worked for Puthoff
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
| Date | 8 February 2020 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Government programs (topic) |
| People | Harold Puthoff, Richard Doty, Paul Bennewitz |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 195 |
| Year | 2020 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 2020 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 15 |
In a talk on 8 February 2020, physicist Hal Puthoff confirmed that Richard Doty, the former Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) agent known for feeding disinformation to UFO researchers in the 1980s, had worked for him as a contractor on a programme that predated AATIP.[1]
The talk
Puthoff spoke at an event in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, part of futurist John Petersen's "Transition Talk" forum, under the title "DOD Unidentified Aerial Phenomena: The Back Story, The Forward Story". Asked whether Doty had worked for him, he replied "He did", describing him as one of many contractors during a period when the team was investigating all aspects of the phenomenon. He said some of Doty's information could be verified and some could not, that he liked Doty personally, and that the work was for a different programme that predated AATIP, not AATIP itself.[1]
Other remarks
In the same talk Puthoff dated the start of the Pentagon programme to 2008, saying reverse engineering of recovered technology was "an option" and "possible", and that To The Stars Academy had no known origin or use for the magnesium-bismuth material it held. He later clarified that he had not confirmed the authenticity of the disputed Wilson–Davis notes.[1]
Doty
In the early 1980s Doty, then an AFOSI special agent at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, took part in a deception operation against Albuquerque businessman Paul Bennewitz, who believed he was intercepting alien communications. He was also involved with researcher William Moore, who admitted in 1989 that he had helped feed false information to Bennewitz, and has been linked to the Majestic 12 documents and the "Project Serpo" story.[2][3]
Reaction
The revelation troubled many researchers, given Doty's history, and raised questions about why someone with his record would be involved in later research. Some saw it as evidence of continuing intelligence involvement in UFO research circles; others suggested Puthoff may have wanted to learn from Doty's knowledge of past events.[1][2]
People and topics
- Harold Puthoff — Physicist who co-founded the SRI remote-viewing research and later worked on AAWSAP and To The Stars Academy.
- Richard Doty — Air Force Office of Special Investigations agent who fed disinformation to UFO researchers in the 1980s.
- AATIP — The Pentagon UAP effort associated with Luis Elizondo, revealed in December 2017.
- Arlington Institute — The futurist think tank founded by John Petersen in 1989.
- Air Force Office of Special Investigations — The Air Force's criminal investigation and counterintelligence agency.
- Disinformation — False information spread deliberately to mislead.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
- Paul Bennewitz — Albuquerque physicist targeted by Air Force disinformation in the Bennewitz affair.
On the Timeline
- Puthoff denies threats (2020) (8 February 2020) — Hal Puthoff denies rumors his family was threatened over antigravity information.
- SBIRS UAP detections claim (20 February 2020) — Christopher Mellon says a missile-warning satellite system has recorded unidentified objects.
See every 2020 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "Dr Hal Puthoff's 8 February 2020 talk", UFOs Scientific Research (Feb 2020) · ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com · archived copy
- Paul Bennewitz — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Majestic 12 — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Paul Bennewitz — Wikipedia · wikipedia.com · archived copy
- Mirage Men (2013 documentary) — Internet Archive · archive.org · archived copy
- Greg Bishop, Project Beta (2005) · goodreads.com · archived copy
- The Bennewitz affair · lennyflatley.substack.com · archived copy
- Mirage Men and the architecture of UAP disinformation · newspaceeconomy.ca · archived copy
- Harold E. Puthoff — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Project Beta — Anomaly Archives · anomalyarchives.org · archived copy
- The Paul Bennewitz affair — Michael Heiser · drmsh.com · archived copy
- Documents on the vetting of 'Skinwalkers at the Pentagon' — The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- Skinwalkers at the Pentagon: book review — Bad UFOs (Robert Sheaffer) · badufos.blogspot.com · archived copy
- AARO historical report finds no evidence of alien technology (2024) — Space.com · space.com · archived copy
- AARO Report on the Historical Record, Volume I — The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
Further reading
- Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Richard Doty — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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