Majestic 12: the MJ-12 documents

About MJ-12

The full story, section by section

The story of MJ-12 in 8 parts. Tap any part to read it in full.

1. Origins in a deception campaignThe earliest known reference to "MJ Twelve" is in a 1981 document used in a disinformation campaign against Paul Bennewitz, a contractor turned UFO researcher who believed craft from U.S.Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
2. The documentsThe Wikipedia account lists these main batches.Read this part → President Harry S. Truman, whose supposed 1947 order created MJ-12 · Photo: Frank Gatteri, United States Army Signal Corps, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
3. PublicationAccording to Dunning, Moore, Shandera and Friedman kept the documents to a small circle at first.Read this part → Majestic 12 In 1988, two FBI offices received similar versions of a memo titled “Operation Majestic-12…” claiming to be highly classified government document. The memo appeared to be a briefing for newly-elected President Eisenhower on a secret commi… · Photo: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
4. InvestigationsOn 15 September 1988 an Air Force OSI agent passed a copy of the Majestic 12 document to the FBI's Dallas office, and the FBI quickly doubted it.Read this part → Truman with Vannevar Bush and James Conant; Truman's signature on the MJ-12 memo was a photocopy from a genuine letter to Bush · Photo: Rowe, Abbie - National Park Service, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
5. ConfessionsAt a 1989 MUFON conference, Moore confessed that for years he had traded information on fellow ufologists to the OSI in exchange for material for his books, and had knowingly fed false evidence to researchers, including Bennewitz.Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
6. Disinformation theoriesMany have argued that the documents were government disinformation rather than a private hoax.Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
7. Claims of a real groupOthers have claimed that some real controlling group existed, whatever the status of the documents:Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
8. Believers and influenceFriedman and Howe believed the original documents were genuine.Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.

Read the full MJ-12 article →

Key people

The people at the centre of the story — witnesses, investigators, officials and sceptics:

• Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953 after succeeding Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• Paul BennewitzPaul Bennewitz was an American businessman and UFO investigator based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who came to believe he was filming alien craft and uncovered a secret underground alien base near Kir…
• Richard DotyRichard Doty is a retired U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations special agent who operated primarily at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico during the late 1970s and 1980s.
• William MooreWilliam Leonard "Bill" Moore is an American author and UFO researcher born in 1943 who became prominent during the late 1970s and 1980s. He co-authored books with Charles Berlitz about the Philadelph…
• Peter GerstenPeter Gersten is an American lawyer known as the UFO lawyer for his legal work involving freedom of information lawsuits and UFO documentation against government agencies. Operating from the late 197…
• Linda Moulton HoweLinda Moulton Howe is an American documentary maker and investigative journalist who became a prominent figure in ufology by reporting on UFOs, crop circles, and animal mutilations. Her 1980 televisi…
• Jaime ShanderaJaime Shandera is an American television producer from Los Angeles who became involved in UFO research. In December 1984, he received an anonymous package containing film of the "Majestic 12" papers,…
• Vannevar BushVannevar Bush was an American engineer, inventor, and science administrator who lived from 1890 to 1974. During the Second World War, he headed the Office of Scientific Research and Development, coor…
• Stanton FriedmanStanton Terry Friedman was an American-Canadian nuclear physicist who became a professional ufologist after leaving physics in 1970. Operating mainly from the United States and Canada, he became best…
• Nathan TwiningNathan Farragut Twining was a United States Air Force general who served as Chief of Staff of the Air Force and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Over a 45-year career spanning major military…
• Tim CooperTim Cooper is an American UFO researcher who claimed to receive over 100 secret MJ-12 documents from anonymous sources starting in 1992. The documents, mostly received in California, described crashe…
• Roscoe HillenkoetterRoscoe Henry Hillenkoetter was a United States Navy officer and the first director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1947 to 1950. During his naval career, he served in both World Wars, coordin…
• Donald MenzelDonald Howard Menzel was an American theoretical astronomer, astrophysicist, and director of the Harvard College Observatory who also served in U.S. Navy intelligence during the Second World War.
• Michael ShellenbergerMichael Shellenberger is an American writer and political activist known for his ecomodernist views, books on various public issues, and unsuccessful runs for governor of California. In 2024, he publ…

Related cases & events

Events and sightings linked to MJ-12:

🗓️ Event · 6 min readMJ-12 Fifth Annual ReportThe MJ-12 Fifth Annual Report is an unauthenticated 1952 document claiming to be a report from a secret presidential committee about crashed UFOs and recovered alien bodies in New Mexico. Circulated by private researchers starting in the 1990s and published o…🗓️ Event · 5 min readFBI MJ-12 espionage fileIn the late 1980s, the FBI investigated the circulation of "Majestic 12" documents marked Top Secret to determine if classified information had been leaked. After the Air Force Office of Special Investigations confirmed that no such committee had ever existed…🗓️ Event · 5 min readMellon on the Majestic documentsIn a 2022 interview, former Pentagon official Christopher Mellon discussed the controversial Majestic 12 documents, which first circulated in the 1980s and purported to describe a secret 1947 government committee on recovered alien craft. The FBI declared the…🗓️ Event · 6 min readKit Green on MJ-12 (1988)In October 1988, researcher Jacques Vallée recorded a conversation in his journal with former CIA physician Kit Green regarding the alleged MJ-12 group. Green claimed that a real MJ-12 committee existed and reported to Presidents Truman and Eisenhower, but it…🗓️ Event · 7 min readSOM1-01 Special Operations ManualThe SOM1-01 Special Operations Manual is a 1954 document that claims to instruct military teams on recovering crashed alien craft and bodies. It surfaced in 1994 when photographs of its pages were mailed anonymously to ufologist Don Berliner in Wisconsin. Whi…🛸 Case · 27 min readRoswell incidentThe Roswell incident involves the 1947 recovery of balloon debris from a ranch near Corona and Roswell, New Mexico, which was initially announced as a captured flying disc before being identified as a weather balloon. The debris actually originated from a top…🗓️ Event · 5 min readHillenkoetter MJ-12 memo of 19 September 1947The Hillenkoetter MJ-12 memo of 19 September 1947 is a disputed document attributed to Rear Admiral Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter, the first Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The memo belongs to the Majestic (MJ-12) papers, which describe a secret commit…🗓️ Event · 5 min readHillenkoetter letter of 24 September 1947The article is about the disputed "Hillenkoetter letter of 24 September 1947" and related Majestic 12 (MJ-12) papers concerning alleged UFO crash retrievals. The documents lack verified government origins and have been declared completely bogus by the FBI due…🗓️ Event · 4 min readAlleged CIA report on recovered disc technology (1949)This article describes an alleged 1949 CIA report concerning a secret Defense Department program to exploit technology from discs recovered in New Mexico. The document belongs to the unverified "Majestic" set circulated online by researchers Robert and Ryan W…

Programs, organizations & documents

The official programs, groups and papers involved:

📄 Document · 7 min readEisenhower Briefing DocumentThe Eisenhower Briefing Document is a 1952 paper concerning a secret committee called Operation Majestic-12, which allegedly recovered crashed alien spacecraft. The document surfaced in 1984 after being mailed anonymously on a roll of film to a UFO researcher…🏢 Organization · 12 min readAir Force Office of Special InvestigationsThe Air Force Office of Special Investigations is a United States federal law-enforcement agency and criminal investigation and counterintelligence service founded in 1948. Headquartered in Quantico, Virginia, it operates outside the normal military chain of …📄 Document · 7 min readCooper documentsThe Cooper documents are a large collection of papers about the alleged Majestic 12 group that UFO researcher Timothy S. Cooper said he received from anonymous sources beginning in 1992. Investigators later showed that many of the papers were forged by alteri…🏢 Organization · 8 min readMcDonnell DouglasMcDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor formed in 1967 by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company. Headquartered in Missouri, the company manufactured various military aircraft, airliners,…🏢 Organization · 15 min readCentral Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the United States civilian foreign intelligence agency created in 1947. Between the late 1940s and 1960s, the agency closely monitored UFO reports primarily for national security reasons, such as potential Soviet threa…🏢 Organization · 8 min readFederal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is the United States' domestic intelligence and security service and its principal federal law-enforcement agency, founded in 1908 and renamed in 1935. Over its history, the agency has investigated various matters, includin…🏢 Organization · 13 min readU.S. Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the air service branch of the U.S. armed forces that became an independent service in September 1947.🏛️ Program or study · 10 min readCrash retrievalCrash retrieval is the alleged recovery of crashed non-human craft and their occupants by the United States government or others, starting with the 1947 Roswell incident. Numerous unverified claims and hoaxes have emerged over the decades, including testimony…🏢 Organization · 9 min readNICAPThe National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) was an American civilian UFO research organization active from 1956 to 1980. Directed for many years by Donald Keyhoe, the group campaigned for congressional hearings and argued that the govern…

Books, films & documentaries

Where to read and watch more:

🎬 Book or film · 5 min readMirage MenMirage Men is a 2010 book and 2013 documentary film that argue U.S. military and intelligence insiders fabricated modern UFO folklore to deflect attention from classified projects and discredit investigators.🎬 Book or film · 5 min readThe X-FilesThe X-Files is an American science-fiction drama series created by Chris Carter that originally ran on Fox from September 1993 to May 2002. FBI agents Fox Mulder, a believer, and Dana Scully, a skeptic, investigate unsolved paranormal cases and uncover a gove…

Related topics & places

Ideas, terms and places that come up in the story:

📖 Term · 17 min readUnidentified flying objectAn unidentified flying object, or UFO, is an unexplained phenomenon or object seen in the sky, with the modern craze originating in the United States in June 1947. While popular culture often equates UFOs with alien spacecraft, most investigations reveal them…📖 Term · 9 min readDisinformationDisinformation is false information spread deliberately to mislead, specifically relating to government agents and intelligence operations hiding classified projects or feeding false UFO stories to researchers from 1950 to 2022. Documented and suspected cases…📖 Term · 13 min readUnidentified anomalous phenomenaUnidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) is the U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects or events in the air, space, or underwater.🧭 Topic overview · 30 min readSecrecy & cover-up (topic)This overview page covers official secrecy, classification, and cover-up claims regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena from 1947 to 2023. It outlines historical classified studies, released government records, and modern claims of hidden reverse-engineeri…🧭 Topic overview · 26 min readGovernment programs (topic)This encyclopedia overview outlines government and private programs established to study UFOs and UAPs from 1947 to 2023. U.S.🧭 Topic overview · 22 min readBeings & bodies (topic)This topic overview covers reports and claims about non-human beings, bodies, and biological material spanning from 1947 to 2023. It outlines various second-hand and anonymous accounts involving crash-retrieval stories and alien abductions, mostly centered in…🧭 Topic overview · 19 min readCrashes & retrievals (topic)This topic overview covers claims from 1947 to 2023 that governments have recovered and studied crashed non-human craft or debris. Beginning with the 1947 Roswell incident in New Mexico, ufology claims have expanded through various witness accounts and testim…🧭 Topic overview · 12 min readNuclear & missile sites (topic)This text is about reported UFO and unidentified anomalous phenomena sightings and incidents at nuclear weapons sites, missile bases, and laboratories between 1947 and 2022. While researchers like Robert Hastings argue that these events show a link between UF…🧭 Topic overview · 11 min readPropulsion & physics (topic)This overview covers claims and research regarding advanced propulsion, gravity, energy, and exotic materials spanning from 1955 to 2023. It details various historical attempts by inventors, government agencies, and aerospace companies to investigate concepts…

🗓️ MJ-12 on the UAP timeline

1. 28 June 1961An alleged Kennedy memo asks the CIA to review 'MJ-12' operations. Read the article →
2. 22 July 1993The FBI says it has a closed 'Majestic-12' file labelled espionage. Read the article →
3. 12 October 1993An Air Force colonel calls MJ-12 and its documents bogus but can't say how that was decided. Read the article →
4. 1 January 1999A former CIA consultant suggests the MJ-12 briefing document was a fake to fool the KGB. Read the article →
5. 5 May 2001A consultant tells Vallée the MJ-12 documents are disinformation. Read the article →
6. 26 March 2004Davis receives notes from a DIA source about fake MJ-12 papers and a secret project. Read the article →
7. September 2022Mellon says the 'Majestic' documents are very controversial. Read the article →
8. 14 October 2022Warner's son describes a 'Cosmos Club' as a forerunner of a group like MJ-12. Read the article →

Search the timeline →

🛸 UFO sightings about Majestic 12 (MJ-12)

Sightings that mention MJ-12

Open the sightings map → Search sightings →

More in the encyclopedia

Other articles that link to or mention MJ-12:

• Ryan WoodRyan S. Wood is an American UFO researcher and author who, along with his father, promoted disputed Majestic 12 documents and organized annual UFO Crash Retrieval Conferences near Las Vegas. He also …
• Kennedy MJ-12 memo of June 1961The Kennedy MJ-12 memo of June 1961 is an alleged 28 June 1961 memorandum from President John F. Kennedy to Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles requesting a review of MJ-12 activities. It i…
• John LearJohn Lear was an American aviator and UFO conspiracy theorist born in 1942 who set flying records and later promoted claims about government cover-ups of extraterrestrial life. He became a prominent …
• Spread of the Bennewitz disinformationIn the 1980s, U.S. Air Force counterintelligence agents fed false information to Albuquerque businessman Paul Bennewitz to distract him from classified projects near Kirtland Air Force Base.
• Vallée on the disinformation campaign (1989)In September 1989, UFO researcher Jacques Vallée concluded from his journals that a large disinformation campaign existed regarding UFOs, though he could find no evidence of an active government blac…
• Bill CooperMilton William "Bill" Cooper was an American conspiracy theorist, author, and shortwave radio broadcaster who wrote the influential 1991 book Behold a Pale Horse. His work mixed theories about secret…
• NSC 5412 Special GroupThe NSC 5412 Special Group was a committee of senior United States officials established in the 1950s to review and approve Central Intelligence Agency covert operations and reconnaissance flights. T…
• Brad SparksBrad Sparks is an American UFO researcher who is best known for compiling and revising a comprehensive database of Project Blue Book unknown cases. His work includes detailed studies of historical UF…
• Burned Kennedy MJ memoThe article discusses the "burned Kennedy MJ memo," a partly burned, nine-page document that surfaced in 1999 after being sent to UFO researcher Timothy Cooper. The document purports to be a Kennedy-…
• Timothy GoodTimothy Good is a British author and violinist who writes books arguing that alien spacecraft have visited Earth and that governments hide this information. His widely read and cited works, such as 1…
• DIA source notes on fake MJ-12 papers (2004)In March 2004, physicist Eric Davis received unreleased notes claiming that certain Majestic 12 (MJ-12) UFO papers were faked by a Defense Intelligence Agency source to mislead ufologists and conceal…
• Jim Westwood's MJ-12 disinformation theoryThis article is about Jim Westwood's analysis of the Eisenhower Briefing Document, which is the center piece of the Majestic 12 story. In the late 1990s, physicist Hal Puthoff hired Westwood, a forme…

Questions & answers