The Claim
Starting in 1953, the CIA ran a covert program called MKUltra, testing mind-control and interrogation techniques — including dosing subjects with LSD, often without their knowledge or consent — across universities, hospitals, and prisons in the U.S. and Canada.
The Evidence
- Thousands of surviving internal CIA documents, released after a 1977 Senate investigation.
- Congressional testimony from CIA officials confirming the program's existence and scope.
- Documented cases of real harm, including the 1953 death of scientist Frank Olson after being secretly dosed with LSD.
The Official Story
This is the rare case file where the “official story” and the wild claim are the same thing: MKUltra genuinely happened. Most records were ordered destroyed by CIA Director Richard Helms in 1973, but a separate cache of financial documents survived and was released after a 1974 New York Times investigation forced a Senate inquiry. The program is now widely regarded as one of the most serious ethical violations in the CIA's history.
File Notes
MKUltra's real history has directly inspired countless fictional versions of itself, including Stranger Things' “Hawkins Lab,” The Manchurian Candidate, and the Jason Bourne franchise.