Methodology
Scope, sourcing standards, and how records are presented
Scope
Black Ops Archive covers documented intelligence operations conducted by or involving the following services and their historical predecessors:
CIA, MI6, Mossad, NSA, FBI, GCHQ, KGB/FSB, BND, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and allied or predecessor organizations (OSS, SOE, etc.).
Content is limited to documented history. No paranormal, extraterrestrial, or unverified fringe claims. Every operation included has a primary source trail: Senate or parliamentary reports, FOIA-released documents, court records, official government acknowledgements, or mainstream investigative journalism that draws directly on such records.
Status Definitions
- Confirmed — The operation (or its core elements) has been officially acknowledged by a government, agency, or parliamentary body, or is supported by an unbroken chain of declassified primary documents.
- Alleged — Credible reporting, participant testimony, or substantial circumstantial evidence exists, but there is no official governmental or agency acknowledgement and key documents remain classified or missing.
- Disputed — Official records conflict, multiple governments or agencies have offered contradictory accounts, or significant credible evidence challenges the dominant narrative.
Sourcing Standards
Every factual claim in an article must be attributable to at least one primary or near-primary source. Preference order:
- Official declassified documents (FOIA releases, NSAEBB collections, congressional reports, court filings)
- Senate, parliamentary, or independent commission reports (Church Committee, Pike Committee, European Parliament resolutions, etc.)
- Official acknowledgements by heads of state, ministers, or agency directors
- High-quality investigative journalism that cites and links primary documents
Speculation beyond what the sources support is not included. When an aspect of an operation remains genuinely contested, the article states the range of evidence and the official position.
Related Operations
Each article page shows a "Related Operations" section. When an article declares explicit related slugs in its frontmatter, those are shown first. Otherwise the site automatically surfaces operations that share the same agency or era, scored to prioritize the strongest overlaps. This creates a lightweight connection graph without requiring a full database.
Archive, Map, and Filters
The interactive map and the Archive listing are both generated from the same content collection. Status, era, and agency filters on the Archive page are client-side and fully URL-addressable so filtered views can be bookmarked or shared. The map offers both conventional pin clustering and a "Network" mode that draws connections from agency headquarters to operations.
Corrections and Additions
Primary sources are sometimes re-interpreted as more documents are released. If you have additional verified primary sources or corrections to existing articles, the preferred channel is a public issue or pull request on the project repository, or direct contact with the maintainer. All accepted changes are attributed in the article history where appropriate.
This site is a personal project by Steven Baird. It is not affiliated with any government, intelligence service, or political organization.