Declassified · Disputed · Still open
Some conspiracies were real.
The files prove it.
Others are still theories, and that's what makes them fun. We read the declassified documents, official reports and FOIA releases behind the internet's favorite conspiracy theories and sort out what's on the record from what's still a mystery.
Open the case files
On the recordFeatured file · FILE 001MKUltra: the CIA's mind-control program
MKUltra sounds like the wildest conspiracy theory on the internet. Most of the core story is confirmed by CIA documents and a 1977 Senate hearing. The real mystery is what was in the files the agency destroyed.
Open the file →The case files
Pick a drawer. Every file is checked against the primary sources.
On the record1953–1973 · Spies & agenciesMKUltra: the CIA's mind-control program
Mind control, secret LSD tests and a director who ordered the files shredded. The core of this one is in the Senate record.
On the record1962 · Military secretsOperation Northwoods: the fake-attack plan
A real Pentagon memo proposed staged attacks to justify war with Cuba. It was rejected, and it stayed secret for 35 years.
On the record1956–1971 · Spies & agenciesCOINTELPRO: the FBI's war on activists
Forged letters, planted stories, infiltrators. A break-in at a small FBI office exposed it, and the Senate confirmed it.
On the record1964 · Military secretsThe Gulf of Tonkin attack that wasn't
A naval clash in the dark helped launch a war. Decades later, an NSA history concluded the second attack didn't happen.
On the record1945–1959 · Military secretsOperation Paperclip: Nazi scientists in America
The rocket team that took America to the Moon included men who had built weapons for Hitler. That part is history.
On the record1932–1972 · Science, space & the strangeThe Tuskegee syphilis study
Government doctors studied untreated syphilis for four decades, even after penicillin became the standard cure.
On the record1970s–1995 · Spies & agenciesStargate: the Pentagon's psychic spies
Remote viewers at Fort Meade tried to spy with their minds. The program is real; whether it worked is another matter.
Partly documented1950s–1970s · Spies & agenciesOperation Mockingbird: the CIA and the press
A wiretap on two reporters is in the CIA's 'Family Jewels.' The famous media-control program is much harder to pin down.
Partly documented1955–today · UFOs & the unexplainedArea 51: what's really at Groom Lake
A secret base in the Nevada desert, decades of denial and a lot of strange lights. The CIA finally explained part of it in 2013.
Partly documented2017–today · UFOs & the unexplainedThe Pentagon's UFO (UAP) files
Navy videos, a whistleblower under oath and a government UFO archive. Lots of 'unresolved.' Zero confirmed aliens, so far.
Partly documented1963–today · Spies & agenciesWho killed JFK? The files on the assassination
Two federal investigations, a famous acoustics dispute and hundreds of thousands of pages. The most argued-over files in American history.
Partly documented1947–today · UFOs & the unexplainedRoswell: the crash of 1947
A real Army press release, a hasty correction, and a secret balloon project nobody was allowed to talk about.
Unproven1969–today · Science, space & the strangeWas the Moon landing faked?
Waving flags, missing stars, film-set rumors. Plus laser reflectors that observatories still bounce light off today.
Unproven1943–today · Military secretsThe Philadelphia Experiment
A destroyer that vanished, teleported and fused sailors into steel. Or a few strange letters, and a misunderstood technique.
Unproven1984–today · UFOs & the unexplainedMajestic 12: the secret UFO committee
Top-secret papers mailed anonymously on a roll of film. The FBI investigated and landed on two words: 'completely bogus.'
Unproven1976–1977 · Science, space & the strangeThe FBI's Bigfoot file
A researcher sent 15 hairs to the FBI. The Bureau ran the test, and its answer sat in a file for more than 40 years.
Three stamps
Every file gets one. The stamp rates the core claim, not the people who believe it.
Why read it here?
- The documents, linked. Every "on the record" point links to the primary source: CIA reading room, National Archives, Senate reports, the FBI Vault.
- Fair to the theory. We explain why smart people believe it before we tell you what the record shows.
- Honest about the gaps. Destroyed files, redactions and unanswered questions get their own section.