The Black Vault

Last updated
The Black Vault
The Black Vault.jpg
Type of site
Document archive
Available in English
Owner John Greenewald Jr.
URL theblackvault.com
Launched1996;29 years ago (1996)
Current statusActive

The Black Vault is an American online archive of declassified government documents founded in 1996 by ufologist and researcher John Greenewald Jr. Created when Greenewald was fifteen years old, the site began as a personal project to collect and digitize records released through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Over time it has grown into one of the largest civilian repositories of federal records, containing millions of files spanning subjects from CIA programs such as MKUltra to Project Blue Book and other investigations of UFOs. The archive has been cited by major media outlets including The Washington Post , USA Today , Newsweek , Popular Mechanics , and Wired , and has been described by the Washington Post as a "massive civilian repository of government documents." Beyond its document collections, the Black Vault operates a podcast and has served as a source of information for journalists, researchers, and the public seeking insight into the workings of the U.S. government.

Contents

Background

Greenewald credits his interests in FOIA early experiences on America Online (AOL). [1] While online in the early Internet, Greenewald found the Computer UFO Network (CUFON) and read about a reported UFO incident involving Iran in 1976. [1] Greenewald filed a FOIA for the same documents he read online over AOL, and to his surprise received the exact same document two weeks later from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). [1] As a result, Greenewald began filing more FOIA requests, and began building a collection of his findings. [1] One of Greenewald's first FOIA requests as a child was for MKUltra documents. [2] In his early days, Greenewald due to technical limitations was forced to hand-type all his retrieved documents onto early versions of the Black Vault's Internet pages. [1] His research has been described by Greenwald as apolitical, focusing only on government transparency. [1]

Greenewald created the Black Vault when he was fifteen years old. [3]

The Black Vault

The Washington Post identified the Black Vault as a "massive civilian repository of government documents" in 2019. [4] Over 5000 FOIA requests have been filed under the Black Vault project. [3] The Black Vault's scope of coverage extends from Central Intelligence Agency programs like MKUltra, the 2012 Benghazi attack in Libya to UFOs. [3] All Federal government of the United States content on the site was obtained via the Freedom of Infommation Act (FOIA). [1] The Columbia Journalism Review in 2020 noted that the site had been in operation for twenty-four years under Greenewald's control. [1] The site's original name was "John’s World". [1] The site became the "Black Vault" one year later. [1]

Due to technical limitations early in the project related to web hosting and the Internet, Greenewald was forced to hand-type declassified documents into web pages, rather than scanning and uploading them. [1] Over time, the Black Vault developed a system of documenting coding schemes and databases to track and facilitate the growing collections of documents. [1] An anonymous user was reported to have purchased Greenewald a $400 digital scanner to speed his work. [1] In 2015, ABC News said that the Black Vault reported hosting 1,322,017 declassified government documents since the 1996 launch of the site. [5] By 2020, Columbia Journalism Review reported the Black Vault archives contained over two million files. [1] Greenewald reported to Vice that the Black Vault's visits increased after his release of the Project Blue Book materials from approximately 5,000 per day in 2015 to "hundreds of thousands". [3] By 2018, the site was reportedly receiving 14,000 to 18,000 visitors per day. [2] By 2020, the Columbia Journalism Review reported that the Black Vault drew 300,000 unique monthly visitors who download 10 terabytes of declassified government documents per month. [1]

For his Black Vault work, Greenewald has worked with and relied on assistance from the public and Internet users, such as when he engaged in a years-long FOIA struggle with the Central Intelligence Agency; his work there included support from Reddit users. [2] Greenewald developed his own customized search engine database, and then supplemental custom databases, to support his research. [3] Vice reported Greenewald stated his Black Vault works do not receive a journalism or public-interest waiver for his U.S. government FOIA requests, and has to pay money for them. [2] The Black Vault in the past has relied on GoFundMe and crowd funding programs to help support his research due to the costs. [2] Greenewald has referred to the Black Vault as a "hobby" and that "there's no money to be made by giving out information for free." [1] Greenewald identifies the Black Vault project as apolitical. [1]

In 2020, the Columbia Journalism Review reported that Black Vault work and materials had been cited by the Washington Post , USA Today , Newsweek , Popular Mechanics , Wired , The Intercept , and Vice Media . [1]

The Black Vault operates a podcast named either Inside the Black Vault or The Black Vault Radio depending on hosting platform. [1]

CIA robot dragonfly program

The Insectothopter was a miniature unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency's research and development office in the 1970s. [6] In 2003, the insectothopter was put on display at the CIA Museum. [7] In 2013, the Black Vault filed a FOIA request for the insectothopter program. [7] Seven years later in 2020, the CIA released files on the insectothopter to the Black Vault. [7]

Commander, Joe Biden's dog

In 2024, Greenewald, via The Black Vault, published documents related to biting incidents involving Commander, a German shepherd kept by President Joe Biden at the White House. [8] The documents were released due to a Freedom of Information Act request by Greenewald. [8]

Pentagon UFO videos

The Pentagon UFO videos are selected visual recordings of forward-looking infrared (FLIR) targeting cameras from United States Navy fighter jets based aboard the aircraft carriers USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt in 2004, 2014 and 2015, with additional footage taken by other Navy personnel in 2019. The U.S. Navy formally declassified all the videos in 2020, and one day later the Black Vault filed FOIA requests related to the various videos, for "any and all other videos related to UAP". [9] In 2022, the Federal government confirmed to the Black Vault the existence of additional UFO and UAP related videos but refused to release any "due to national security concerns". [9]

Project Blue Book Collection

Project Blue Book was the code name for the systematic study of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by the United States Air Force from March 1952 to its termination on December 17, 1969. The project, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, was initially directed by Captain Edward J. Ruppelt and followed projects of a similar nature such as Project Sign established in 1947, and Project Grudge in 1949. In 2015, the Black Vault was credited by ABC News, CNET and Vice magazine with uploading 129,491 declassified documents from the three projects. [3] [10] [5] The Black Vault's Blue Book collection covers over 10,000 cases formally investigated by the Air Force. [5] The Black Vault's Project Blue Book Collection includes declassified Federal government UFO data from Project Blue Book, Project Sign and Project Grudge, spanning U.S government research from 1947 to 1969. [5] Greenwald personally digitized and made available all the pages to the public on the Black Vault, described by ABC News as a "painstaking effort". [5]

MKUltra files

MKUltra was an illegal human experimentation program designed and undertaken by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to develop procedures and identify drugs that could be used during interrogations to weaken individuals and force confessions through brainwashing and psychological torture. [11] When Greenewald was 15 years old, one of his Black Vault FOIA requests was for MKUltra documents. [2] The materials arrived on "four CD-ROMs". [2] Greenewald reported to Vice that the MKUltra became one of the most viewed parts of the website, [2]

In 2016, Greenewald became aware that his 2004 Black Vault release of MKUltra documents was, in fact, incomplete. [2] 4,358 pages were omitted from what the CIA had sent him in 2004, but had appeared in an index of the files. [2] For two years, the Black Vault attempted to pry the missing documents from the CIA, and at one point provided 97 printed pages of evidence proving to the CIA that the documents were omitted from their 2004 release. [2] The CIA finally admitted the MKUltra documents were omitted 12 years after providing the initial files and complete index to Greenewald. [2] The files were not released by the CIA due to the fact they involved "behavioral modification" programs of the CIA. [2]

Media coverage

In 2021, the Smithsonian Magazine [12] , The Independent [13] , Vice [14] , and Live Science [15] reported on the Black Vault's publication of then-newly released CIA UFO documents. Smithsonian Magazine reported the Black Vault had publicized 2,780 pages of CIA-related UFO documents obtained via FOIA. [12] Black Vault founder Greenewald told Vice the material was purchased from the CIA in 2020 on CD-ROM, and per the CIA it "represents all its documents" on the matter. [14] The Independent quoted the Black Vault that "there is no way to verify that". [13] Greenewald told Live Science that the documents were the result of decades of Black Vault FOIA requests to the CIA. [15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Raviv, Shawn (2020-05-09). "Inside the Black Vault". Columbia Journalism Review . Archived from the original on 2020-05-09.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Gaynor, Michael (2018-08-13). "The Internet Is Crowdfunding the Release of 4,358 Secret CIA Mind Control Documents". Vice . Archived from the original on 2025-03-23.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rose, Nick (2015-01-23). "The Mother Lode of UFO Files Has Finally Hit the Web". Vice . Archived from the original on 2025-08-31.
  4. ↑ Epstein, Kayla (2019-09-19). "Those UFO videos are real, the U.S. navy says, but please stop saying 'UFO'". Washington Post . Archived from the original on 2019-09-19. 'The Navy designates the objects contained in these videos as unidentified aerial phenomena,' Joseph Gradisher, spokesman for the deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare, told the Black Vault blog, a massive civilian repository of government documents mostly obtained by Freedom of Information Act requests.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Man releases 130K pages of declassified Air Force documents on UFOs". ABC News . 2025-01-20. Archived from the original on 2023-06-09. John Greenewald, a UFO enthusiast, spent nearly 20 years filing Freedom of Information Act requests for the government files on UFOs and related phenomena.
  6. ↑ "Insectothopter". International Spy Museum. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  7. 1 2 3 Hambling, David (2020-02-18). "In the 1970s, the CIA Created a Robot Dragonfly Spy. Now We Know How It Works". Popular Mechanics . Archived from the original on 2020-02-18.
  8. 1 2 Baker, Peter (2024-02-21). "Secret Service Had to Adjust Tactics to Avoid Bites From Biden's Dog". New York Times . Archived from the original on 2024-02-22. The documents were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by John Greenewald, a longtime California-based researcher who specializes in unearthing government secrets on everything from U.F.O.s to C.I.A. and military activities, and posted on his website, called The Black Vault. The Secret Service confirmed the documents were authentic.
  9. 1 2 "US Navy Admits It Has More UFO Videos, But Don't Expect to See Them Anytime Soon". ScienceAlert. 2022-09-11. Archived from the original on 2022-09-11. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  10. ↑ Kooser, Amanda (2021-01-13). "The Black Vault releases trove of CIA's classified UFO documents". CNET . Archived from the original on 2022-04-27.
  11. ↑ United States Congress Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (1921). Project MKUProject MKULTRA, the CIA's Program of Research in Behavioral Modification. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 70. Some MKUltra activities raise questions of legality implicit in the original charter.
  12. 1 2 Davis-Marks, Isis (2021-01-15). "You Can Now Explore the CIA's 'Entire' Collection of UFO Documents Online". Smithsonian Magazine . Archived from the original on 2021-01-17.
  13. 1 2 Smith, Adam (2021-01-12). "CIA unexpectedly releases all of its documents on UFOs". The Independent . Archived from the original on 2022-09-12.
  14. 1 2 Ferdowsi, Samir (2021-01-11). "You Can Now Easily Download All CIA UFO Documents to Date". Archived from the original on 2025-08-27.
  15. 1 2 Spektor, Brandon (2021-01-13). "CIA releases entire collection of UFO-related documents to truth-seeking website". Live Science . Archived from the original on 2021-01-13.
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