John Greenewald

John Greenewald Jr. (born April 17, 1981) is an American researcher and ufologist, His work has been described by The Washington Post as a "civilian repository" of such records, and he has published material ranging from MKUltra papers to declassified Pentagon UFO videos. Greenewald has written several books on government secrecy and has appeared in media including the UFO documentary series.

Early life Greenewald grew up in the San Fernando Valley in California as a child and lived in Northridge, California. His father was a United States Marine and his grandfather served in the United States Navy. Greenewald later filed FOIA reports to obtain information on his ancestors who served in government. By 2015, Greenewald had filed over 5,000 FOIA requests. His research has been described by Greenwald as apolitical, focusing only on government transparency.

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

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. In 2017, Greenewald was reported by Vox to have been investigating reports about alleged "alien mummies" from Peru. In 2021, Greenewald appeared in the documentary series UFO produced by JJ Abrams. The Jerusalem Post spoke with Greenewald in 2024 after an alleged UFO sighting over the United States Capitol building.

Greenewald hosts a podcast to discuss his documents and findings, described by Shaun Raviv in the Columbia Journalism Review as "popular".

Reception The United States Department of Justice has identified Greenewald as part of a "FOIA posse", along with journalist Jason Leopold.

The cofounder of MuckRock, Michael Morisy, has called Greenewald's work "groundbreaking".

Views According to Greenewald, the "best feeling in the world" is obtaining a FOIA declassified document that no one in the public had seen before him. In the past, Greenewald has expressed support for theories the U.S. government shot down United Airlines Flight 93.

Books Beyond UFO Secrecy: The Story of the Black Vault's Pursuit of the Truth (Galde Press, 2008) Inside The Black Vault: The Government's UFO Secrets Revealed (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019) Secrets from the Black Vault: The Army's Plan for a Military Base on the Moon and Other Declassified Documents that Rewrote History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020)