Men In Black
also see: Deceptive I&W, Counter-intelligence, Disinformation, Suppression
The Men In Black are entities commonly witnessed in the orbit of UFO sightings and encounters. UFO-lore holds them to be anything from special interest groups acting outside the law to deep-black federal agents. Some even suggest they are the visitors, themselves. What's clear is that witnessing a UFO or researching the topic could result in a visit from the Men In Black. While their interest in the subject is unknown, they are generally seen as a negative force who will work to cover-up information about UFO/NHI at any cost. For the purposes of this topic, it can be assumed that MIB's may actually represent more than one (or even all) of these possible sources.
Tools of the Trade - Architects of Denial
Whoever or whatever the Men In Black are, their goal of suppressing information and denying knowledge of NHI is accomplished using a variety of tools.
When managing government and military insiders, they have powerful tools available that by default do not generate activity in the public space. Unlike an arrest or outright disappearance, the revocation of a security clearance or degredation of status among one's peers is difficult to measure and report on. Given the sensitive nature of some of this work, its also very difficult to pin down and prove to anyone but the person at the receiving end of it.
Disinformation Campaigns/Information Warfare
Disinformation is a broad topic among the even broader topic of information warfare. For the purpose of UFO research, disinformation involves the deliberate creation and release of false information (documents, AV, sensor, etc) for the purpose of eliciting some tactical goal. This often includes portions of legitimately sensitive material in order to "hook" the reader in and sell the lie, according to AFOSI Special Agent Richard Doty. Disinformation is a technique that is used to bring about a goal, overall this is known as information warfare, or the weaponization of information to deny, deceive, disrupt, degrade or destroy our understanding/comprehension/discovery/dissemenation of UFO material.
Suppression
Suppression in this context refers to preventing an individual from speaking out by threat or actual use of coercive tactics. This could be ridicule, spreading rumors at work, psychological intimidation tactics or worse. Ruining a reputation that took a whole career to build has no price tag, nor is it insurable.
Noteable Incidents
1) Dreamland Resort Raid - Nov, 3 2023 raid on the webmaster of DreamlandResort.com for reasons still unknown[1]
2) The 1970's-1980's era information war against the UFO community via Paul Bennewitz and others[2]
3) Harold Dahl's 1947 intimidation and subsequent recantation following the Maury Island Incident[3]
4) Richard Doty's presense as a N.M. State Trooper during a raid on whistleblower Bob Lazar's home ostensibly for dangerous nuclear materials. Doty has stated his presense was entirely unrelated to his past work in the USAF.