The Majestic-12 and the Beginnings of Intentional Disinformation

While Project Sign was established to scientifically investigate UFO phenomena, and Project Grudge took over with a more skeptical and debunking approach - it has been suggested that the Majestic 12, (or MJ-12,) and Richard Doty’s Mirage Men came in to hide the facts of these encounters, and gaslight witnesses into believing outright hoaxes and intentional disinformation. 

Page 14 of the alleged Majestic 12 memo with FBI markings - Federal Bureau of Investigation - FBI Records: The Vault — Majestic 12 (1)

The Majestic-12 is a purported secret committee within the government that was allegedly established in 1947 by an executive order of then-President Harry S. Truman - and was tasked with managing and covering up information about UFOs and extraterrestrial contacts. First surfacing in the late 1980s, the MJ-12 Documents(1) consist of a series of documents allegedly detailing the creation of the secret committee. While the authenticity of these documents is still highly controversial, some researchers consider them to be the most important evidence of a government cover-up of UFO information - while others argue that they are simply further disinformation. 

Photo of the men who purportedly were the Majestic 12 - From The MJ-12 Documents, Reconsidered | by Mark Hammons (3)

The Majestic-12 (or Majic-12 as sometimes referred to,) first came to the attention of ufologists when a roll of undeveloped film was left in the mailbox of Los Angeles TV Producer Jamie Shandera(3) in December of 1984. He, with the help of ufologists William Moore and Stanton Friedman, developed the film and found a series of photos of government documents dated through the 1940s and 1950s and signed by a combination of several high-ranking officials - including multiple presidents of the United States. After Shandera validated the legitimacy of these documents and publicized them, in 1987 Timothy Good brought the matter to public attention again when he published his book Above Top Secret(5) - in which he explores various claims and evidence related to UFOs and extraterrestrial encounters. He also analyzes government documents (- such as these pages -) military testimonies, and eyewitness accounts to suggest that governments around the world have concealed information about UFO sightings and alien encounters. 

Left : Jaime Shandera Speaking At The Mufon Ufo Symposium 1985 - Image Source : Bildagentur / Middle : William Moore speaking at The Mufon Ufo Symposium 1983 - Image Source : Bildagentur  / Right : Stanton Friedman photo from CBC News announcement of his sudden death after speaking in Ohio. Image Source : Stanton Friedman, famed UFO researcher, dead at 84 | CBC News (6)

The Majestic Documents suggest that the group was formed in response to the crash at Roswell, and was tasked with overseeing the study of the recovered materials and technology that came from the debris. They also infer that the main priority of MJ-12 was the management of UFO-related information. However, the government refuses to acknowledge(7) the existence of the group, or the validity of the documents - and in response to inquiries agencies such as the FBI and Air Forces have claimed that they consider the entire thing a hoax(8). 

Page four of the alleged Majestic 12 memo with FBI markings - Federal Bureau of Investigation - FBI Records: The Vault — Majestic 12 (1)

To some, this constant denial only furthers the proof that the Majestic-12 is still alive and well - operating to this day under a new name(9) acting  in secret to control and cover up information about UFO encounters, and suppress the idea of other life as simply lore. 

Original Source : The Cosmic Conspiracy (RWB Productions Film & Television Pty. Ltd. / Zenac Corp.) (1983) (10)

Despite decades of speculation and investigation, the question of whether MJ-12 is a real secret committee or a fabrication still remains unresolved. The prevailing view(11) among mainstream researchers and scholars is that the MJ-12 documents are likely hoaxes or disinformation, and the authenticity of the committee's existence remains unproven. 

But why? 

Almost from the beginning, the MJ-12 documents faced significant skepticism. The memoranda are addressed to and from various government officials and agencies, including President Harry S. Truman, Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, and others. They seem to include signatures and references to official positions within the government. The documents are presented with a tone and style typical of official government memoranda. They include classification markings and headers suggesting that they are internal communications within the U.S. government. However, critics questioned the authenticity of the documents, calling them counterfeit(13) and pointing to inconsistencies in formatting, language, and terminology that appeared anachronistic for the periods they were purportedly created. Some aspects of the documents also raised suspicions(14), such as the lack of standard classification markings and the use of fonts not consistent with typewriters of the alleged time. Various attempts have supposedly(15) been made to verify the authenticity of the MJ-12 documents, including forensic examinations of the papers. However, different analyses have yielded conflicting results, and debates(16) about the documents' legitimacy continue.  Critics argue that the memoranda shows signs of being hoaxes or forgeries, and they point to inconsistencies and anachronisms that suggest a more recent origin.

It was almost as if these documents were intentionally created as disinformation…

…and this, my friends, is where we get into Richard Doty and his Mirage Men.

Mirage Men 2013 Movie Trailer - Posted by Rotten Tomatoes Indie 

Check back in next week where we will dive into the disinformation campaign allegedly headed by Richard Doty - and get ready to have your world shook… this one is a wild ride.

Until then, keep your eyes to the skies guys. 👽

All of the information in this post can be found at the following links : 

(5) Above Top Secret: The Worldwide UFO Cover-up. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1987. ISBN 978-0283994968. With a foreword by Lord Hill-Norton, GCB

(10) Deyo, Stan, et al. “Stanton Friedman and Bill Moore with Stan Deyo Discuss the UFO Cover-Up.” YouTube, Rare TV, 31 Dec. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?si=g7La5nwBYr1BEegO&v=F9b5S6Z9Xzg&feature=youtu.be. 

(16) Editors of Publications International Ltd. “Majestic 12.” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 8 Mar. 2023, science.howstuffworks.com/space/aliens-ufos/majestic-12.htm. 

(11) Government Accountability Office. “Comments on Majestic 12 Material.” Government Accountability Office, National Security and International Affairs Division, 1990, www.gao.gov/assets/154832.pdf. 

(14) Grundhauser, Eric. “The FBI Debunked These UFO Documents in the Most Childish Way Possible.” Slate Magazine, Slate, 6 Dec. 2016, slate.com/human-interest/2016/12/the-fbi-debunked-the-majestic-12-ufo-documents-in-the-most-childish-way-possible.html. 

(3) Hammons, Mark. “The MJ-12 Documents, Reconsidered.” Medium, Strange Visitors, 24 Jan. 2023, medium.com/on-the-trail-of-the-saucers/the-mj-12-documents-reconsidered-f269055cfb45. 

(15) Heiser, Michael S. “The Majestic Documents: A Forensic Linguistic Report.” Scribd, Scribd, 2007, www.scribd.com/document/225277137/MJ-12-Test-Article. 

(13) Klass, Philip J. “New Evidence of MJ-12 Hoax.” Denter for Inquiry, 1990, cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1990/01/22165233/p30.pdf. 

(9) Majestic-12. “Majestic 12 Files.” Internet Archive, 13 Mar. 2022, archive.org/details/majestic-12-files. 

(6) McPhail, Colin. “Stanton Friedman, Famed UFO Researcher, Dead at 84 | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 14 May 2019, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/stanton-friedman-ufologist-dead-1.5135588. 

(7) National Archives, Military Records. “Project Blue Book - Unidentified Flying Objects.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, 2020, www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos. 

(1) United States Air Force. "Majestic 12." FBI : The Vault, 12 Dec. 1990, vault.fbi.gov/Majestic%2012/Majestic%2012%20Part%201%20of%201/view. Accessed 1 Jan. 2024.

(8) U.S. Government Accountability Office. “Comments on Majestic 12 Material.” U.S. GAO, 28 July 1995, www.gao.gov/products/154832.