Majestic 12, also called Majic-12 or MJ-12, is a group that some people claim existed. These claims are based on fake documents first shared by people who study UFOs in 1984. Some UFO conspiracy theories still say the group was real. It is said that Majestic 12 was the code name for a secret group of scientists, military leaders, and government officials. This group, according to the claims, was created in 1947 by an order from U.S. President Harry S. Truman. The purpose was to help recover and study alien spacecraft. Over time, the idea became well-known after the FBI said the documents were completely fake. Many people who study UFOs believe the documents were a trick. Today, Majestic 12 is still popular among some UFO conspiracy theorists. The idea has also appeared in movies, books, video games, and on television.
History
On May 31, 1987, British researcher Timothy Good said he had documents from the 1950s about UFOs. The papers claimed a secret group of 12 people was formed in 1947 by an order from U.S. President Harry S. Truman. The documents described how the U.S. government hid the 1947 crash of an alien spacecraft near Roswell, New Mexico, how alien technology was studied, and how the U.S. should handle future contact with extraterrestrial life.
Ufologist William L. Moore said his friend, Jamie Shandera, a television writer, found documents in December 1984. The papers were on a roll of 35 mm film inside a brown paper package that was delivered through Shandera’s mail slot. The package had only a postmark from New Mexico and no other details.
After developing the film, two important papers were found: a "Top Secret" memo from President Truman to Defense Secretary Forrestal, dated September 24, 1947, which mentioned "Operation Majestic-12," and a seven-page "Top Secret/Eyes Only" document from 1952 that was used to brief President-Elect Eisenhower about the operation.
The idea of "Majestic 12" became popular in the 1980s when researchers believed the Roswell incident was hidden by a secret part of the U.S. government. Shandera and other researchers, including Stanton T. Friedman and Bill Moore, later received anonymous messages that led them to search government files in the National Archives in 1985. They found a paper called the "Cutler/Twining memo," which claimed to be written by President Eisenhower’s assistant, Robert Cutler, to General Nathan F. Twining. The memo mentioned "Majestic 12," but experts believe it was fake and created as part of a trick.
A man named Richard Doty, who claimed to be connected to the U.S. Air Force, told filmmaker Linda Moulton Howe that the MJ-12 story was true. He showed her documents that claimed to prove small, gray aliens from the Zeta Reticuli star system existed. Doty promised to show Howe video of UFOs and an interview with an alien, but he never provided these.
Doubt grew in the UFO research community about the realness of the MJ-12 documents. Moore was accused of being involved in a trick, while others, like Philip J. Klass, were accused of spreading false information.
On June 24, 1987, Friedman appeared on the ABC news program Nightline with Klass to discuss MJ-12. On October 14, 1988, the TV show UFO Coverup? Live introduced many Americans to the MJ-12 hoax. It was the first time the public heard that Nevada’s Area 51 might be linked to aliens.
Analysis
Klass studied the MJ-12 documents and found that Robert Cutler was not in the country on the day he supposedly wrote the "Cutler/Twining memo." Klass also discovered that the Truman signature on the documents was a photocopy of a real signature Truman wrote in 1947, including accidental scratch marks. Klass said theories that the documents were part of a disinformation campaign were "ridiculous," explaining that the documents had many flaws that would not trick Soviet or Chinese intelligence. Other issues Klass noted included a date format used in Moore's personal letters and a report by Brad Sparks that Moore considered creating fake Top Secret documents to encourage former officials to reveal secrets about a government UFO coverup.
In 1987, officials from the White House and National Security Council said there was no group called Majestic 12, MJ-12, or Majic-12.
In 1988, a U.S. Air Force investigator contacted the FBI in Dallas after receiving the MJ-12 document from someone at an unnamed school. The FBI began its own investigation and soon doubted the document's authenticity. After learning from the Air Force that no such committee had ever existed, the FBI said the document was "completely fake" and ended its investigation.
Emma Best, a writer for MuckRock, suggested the documents might have been created or allowed by the government, as no effort was made to find the person who made the fake documents.
Besides the Roswell incident, the "Eisenhower Briefing Document" also mentioned a second crash in 1950 near El Indio and Guerrero, Mexico. Tom Deuley investigated the claim but found no evidence of a UFO crash there.
In 1996, a document called the MJ-12 "Special Operations Manual" circulated among UFO researchers. It is widely believed to be fake and part of the MJ-12 myth.
UFO researchers Linda Moulton Howe and Stanton T. Friedman believed the MJ-12 documents were real. Friedman said the U.S. government hid knowledge of a crashed alien spacecraft.
The name "Majestic 12" was first used in 1982 when Bill Moore asked a reporter to help write a book called "The Aquarius Project." Because of this, the reporter doubted the authenticity of the MJ-12 documents.
Scientific skeptic Brian Dunning studied the history of MJ-12 and reported his findings in a 2016 podcast. He said Bill Moore believed the documents were not a hoax but part of a government plan to hide secret Air Force projects.
Alleged members
The following people were listed in the Majestic 12 documents as "designated members" of Majestic 12.