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* ''Series/LoisAndClark'' has Bureau 39, a secret, quasi-military agency tasked with investigating and collecting artifacts from alien sightings and encounters, including [[RoswellThatEndsWell Roswell in 1947]] and, alarmingly, to Clark, Smallville in 1966. The role of its civilian head includes convincing anyone who hears about it that the government is just as confused by reports of a Bureau 39 as they are. Things change, however, once the second-in-command goes rogue in his obsessive pursuit of Superman.

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* ''Series/LoisAndClark'' ''Series/LoisAndClarkTheNewAdventuresOfSuperman'' has Bureau 39, a secret, quasi-military agency tasked with investigating and collecting artifacts from alien sightings and encounters, including [[RoswellThatEndsWell Roswell in 1947]] and, alarmingly, to Clark, Smallville in 1966. The role of its civilian head includes convincing anyone who hears about it that the government is just as confused by reports of a Bureau 39 as they are. Things change, however, once the second-in-command goes rogue in his obsessive pursuit of Superman.
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* ''Website/SCPFoundation'':
** The Antimemetics Department of the Foundation deals with anomalies that feed on things like information and memory. Foundation personnel need to take special medication to even ''remember'' that the department exists, let alone their day-to-day roles.

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* ''Website/SCPFoundation'':
''Website/SCPFoundation'': The Foundation itself, of course. It is unknown outside of its membership and a select few government agents involved with funding it or giving it prisoners. Additionally, within the Foundation:
** The Antimemetics Department of the Foundation deals with anomalies that feed on things like information and memory. Foundation personnel need to take special medication to even ''remember'' that the department exists, let alone their day-to-day roles.
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* ''Website/SCPFoundation'':
** The Antimemetics Department of the Foundation deals with anomalies that feed on things like information and memory. Foundation personnel need to take special medication to even ''remember'' that the department exists, let alone their day-to-day roles.

to:

* ''Website/SCPFoundation'':
''Website/SCPFoundation'': The Foundation itself, of course. It is unknown outside of its membership and a select few government agents involved with funding it or giving it prisoners. Additionally, within the Foundation:
** The Antimemetics Department of the Foundation deals with anomalies that feed on things like information and memory. Foundation personnel need to take special medication to even ''remember'' that the department exists, let alone their day-to-day roles.
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* The unit fomerly known as the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_Support_Activity Intelligence Support Activity]]'', they serve as the intelligence gathering division of the USSOCOM and JSOC, providing intelligence for other units such as the SEAL Team 6 and Delta Force. Officially it was "disbanded" in 1989, but it continued existing, every information available is classified and the new name is a series of codenames that frequently changes. Some of the most famous codename include: Centra Spike,[[labelnote:Note]]Used during their operations in the hunt for Pablo Escobar[[/labelnote]] [[VideoGame/MetalGear Grey Fox]],[[labelnote:Note]]Used in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan[[/labelnote]] and Inteprid Spear.[[labelnote:note]]Current or last codename known[[/labelnote]]

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* The unit fomerly known as the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_Support_Activity Intelligence Support Activity]]'', they serve as the intelligence gathering division of the USSOCOM and JSOC, providing intelligence for other units such as the SEAL Team 6 and Delta Force. Officially it was "disbanded" in 1989, but it continued existing, every information available is classified and the new name is a series of codenames that frequently changes. Some of the most famous codename include: Centra Spike,[[labelnote:Note]]Used during their operations in the hunt for Pablo Escobar[[/labelnote]] [[VideoGame/MetalGear Grey Fox]],[[labelnote:Note]]Used in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan[[/labelnote]] and Inteprid Intrepid Spear.[[labelnote:note]]Current or last codename known[[/labelnote]]
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* The Cabal starts as this in ''VideoGame/PhantomDoctrine'', regardless of which background is chosen: the CIA agent does wetwork despite it being illegal, the KGB agent is specifically told that their group doesn't exist, and the Mossad agent is tasked with hunting down and eliminating Nazi agents. All three backgrounds end up creating the Cabal when their activities uncover a huge conspiracy and they're forced to burn all previous ties as a safety measure: [[spoiler: the CIA agent is disavowed and ''attacked'' by US operatives, the KGB agent realizes the conspiracy goes beyond Russia and oversight is a detriment, and the Mossad agent executes a former Nazi despite explicit orders and is disavowed.]]

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* "Section 9" in ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' is not supposed to exist following the events at the end of the first season. Of course, there's a second season and [[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplexSolidStateSociety a movie]]. Of course, this is downplayed, in that they are officially reinstated at the very beginning of the second season after not (officially) existing for a while.

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* "Section 9" in ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' is not supposed to exist following the events at the end of the first season. Of course, there's a second season and [[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplexSolidStateSociety a movie]]. Of course, this is downplayed, Downplayed in that they are officially reinstated at the very beginning of the second season after not (officially) existing for a while.



* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'' plays with this. The Risk Management Agency ''does'' exist, but it's a branch of the department of ''agriculture''. Not intelligence. Their spy agency operates within their farming-related agency illegally without anybody, including the branch of the government they're a part of knowing what they're actually doing and are trying to find leverage so that they can come clean as a legitimate spy agency without worrying about being shut down. When Deadpool rats them out, the secretary of agriculture shuts them down.

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* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'' plays with this. The Risk Management Agency ''does'' exist, but it's a branch of the department of ''agriculture''. Not ''agriculture'', not intelligence. Their spy agency operates within their farming-related agency illegally without anybody, including the branch of the government they're a part of knowing what they're actually doing and are trying to find leverage so that they can come clean as a legitimate spy agency without worrying about being shut down. When Deadpool rats them out, the secretary of agriculture shuts them down.



** ''ComicBook/DoubleDuck'' has The Agency -- full name, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Agency So Secret It Doesn't Even Have A Name]]. Its existence is not publicly acknowledged until [[spoiler:the story "Reboot" has the government disband it and replace it with the less expensive Direction, that proceeds to expose the former existence of the Agency in the name of transparency, never mind they exposed all the Agency's operators to revenge from the criminals they had opposed]].
** ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' has a spy being about to say the name of an intelligence agency -- only for his father, a military intelligence sergeant, to ''pull a gun on him'' as he says that even mentioning the name requires a rather high security clearance he doesn't have anymore, no matter that they had just seen an ID badge of said agency. [[spoiler:As ''Paperinik New Adventures'' and ''Double Duck'' are specifically part of the same continuity, it could have been The Agency.]]

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** ''ComicBook/DoubleDuck'' has The Agency -- full name, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Agency So Secret It Doesn't Even Have A Name]]. Its existence is not publicly acknowledged until [[spoiler:the story "Reboot" has the government disband it and replace it with the less expensive Direction, that which proceeds to expose the former existence of the Agency in the name of transparency, never mind they that they've just exposed all the Agency's operators to revenge from the criminals they had opposed]].
** ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' has In ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'', a spy being is about to say the name of an intelligence agency -- only for his father, a military intelligence sergeant, to ''pull a gun on him'' as he says that even mentioning the name requires a rather high security clearance he doesn't have anymore, no matter that they had just seen an ID badge of said agency. [[spoiler:As ''Paperinik New Adventures'' and ''Double Duck'' are specifically part of the same continuity, it could have been The Agency.]]



* When the investigator protagonists in Vladimir Serebryakov and Andrey Ulanov's ''Film/{{From America with Love}}'' reach the NSA, they are in effect never get past the doorman. After they were politely shown the door by a self-professed Major in a plain civilian suit, one of them remarks that it's only to be expected — the NSA headquarters was the only building he'd seen since the arrival to the USA ''[[SeriousBusiness which had the false windows]]''.
* In ''Film/Hellboy2004'', one of Tom Manning's jobs is to deny the existence of the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense and cover up all evidence of their missions (which is a deviation from the original comic books, where the Bureau's existence was public knowledge). But in [[Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy the sequel]], Hellboy deliberately reveals the Bureau's existence by appearing on a live news broadcast.

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* When the investigator protagonists in Vladimir Serebryakov and Andrey Ulanov's ''Film/{{From America with Love}}'' reach the NSA, they are in effect never get past the doorman. After they were they're politely shown the door by a self-professed Major in a plain civilian suit, one of them remarks that it's only to be expected -- the NSA headquarters was the only building he'd seen since the arrival to the USA ''[[SeriousBusiness which had the false windows]]''.
* In ''Film/Hellboy2004'', one of Tom Manning's jobs is to deny the existence of [[WhoYouGonnaCall the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense and Defense]] and cover up all evidence of their missions (which is a deviation from [[ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} the original comic books, where books]], in which the Bureau's existence was is public knowledge). But However, in [[Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy the sequel]], Hellboy deliberately reveals the Bureau's existence by appearing on a live news broadcast.



** In ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'', the Kingsmen are an international independent espionage agency that makes sure everything is okay in the world. But no-one knows of its existence.

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** In ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'', the Kingsmen are an international [[PrivateIntelligenceAgency independent espionage agency agency]] that makes sure everything is okay in the world. But no-one world, but no one knows of its existence.



* The covert organization in all iterations of ''Film/{{Nikita}}'', including [[Series/LaFemmeNikita the two]] [[Series/{{Nikita}} TV series]] and the TransAtlanticEquivalent ''Point of No Return'', is a black-ops program for assassination and counterintelligence that does not officially exist. Which has allowed the program's leader to turn it into a work-for-hire operation that the government can't shut down.
* In ''Film/{{Nixon}}'', the President feels that he can't rely on the FBI or the CIA, so he [[StartMyOwn institutes his own personal]] covert agency, The White House Plumbers.

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* The covert organization in all iterations of ''Film/{{Nikita}}'', including [[Series/LaFemmeNikita the two]] [[Series/{{Nikita}} TV series]] and the TransAtlanticEquivalent ''Point of No Return'', is a black-ops program for assassination and counterintelligence that does not officially exist. Which exist, which has allowed the program's leader to turn it into a work-for-hire operation that the government can't shut down.
* In ''Film/{{Nixon}}'', the President feels that he can't rely on the FBI or the CIA, so he [[StartMyOwn institutes his own personal]] personal covert agency, The agency]], the White House Plumbers.



* ''Literature/Area51'': There are many of these in the books, starting with Majic-12 and its covert ops Nightscape.

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* ''Literature/Area51'': There are many of these in the ''Literature/Area51'' books, starting with Majic-12 and its covert ops Nightscape.



* Played with by the Ministry of Magic in ''Literature/HarryPotter''. Its name suggests a governmental department on par with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Justice, but no-one in the U.K.'s {{Muggle}} government knows it exists other than the Prime Minister, and they certainly don't ''report'' to him, unless bursting in unannounced at irregular intervals to give him information he has no context for and can't possibly act intelligently upon counts.

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* Played with by the Ministry of Magic in ''Literature/HarryPotter''. Its name suggests a governmental department on par with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Justice, but no-one no one in the U.K.'s {{Muggle}} {{Muggle|s}} government knows it exists other than the Prime Minister, and they certainly don't ''report'' to him, unless bursting in unannounced at irregular intervals to give him information he has no context for and can't possibly act intelligently upon counts.



* In the ''Literature/MattHelm'' series of novels written by Donald Hamilton, the U.S. assassination agency with no name that Matt works for.

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* In the The ''Literature/MattHelm'' series of novels written by Donald Hamilton, Hamilton has the U.S. assassination agency with no name that Matt works for.



* "[[NoNameGiven The Agency]]" in ''Series/TheInvisibleMan'' is an interesting variation. Due to their low budget [[OddlySmallOrganisation and few personnel]] they had to exist mainly as a deniable floating task force for other government agencies, such as the Department of Fish & Game.
* ''Series/LoisAndClark'' has Bureau 39, a secret, quasi-military agency tasked with investigating and collecting artifacts from alien sightings and encounters, including [[RoswellThatEndsWell Roswell in 1947]] and, alarmingly to Clark, Smallville in 1966. The role of its civilian head includes convincing anyone who hears about it that the government is just as confused by reports of a Bureau 39 as they are. Things change, however, once the second-in-command goes rogue in his obsessive pursuit of Superman.

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* "[[NoNameGiven The Agency]]" in ''Series/TheInvisibleMan'' is an interesting variation. Due to their low budget and [[OddlySmallOrganisation and few personnel]] personnel]], they had have to exist mainly as a deniable floating task force for other government agencies, such as the Department of Fish & and Game.
* ''Series/LoisAndClark'' has Bureau 39, a secret, quasi-military agency tasked with investigating and collecting artifacts from alien sightings and encounters, including [[RoswellThatEndsWell Roswell in 1947]] and, alarmingly alarmingly, to Clark, Smallville in 1966. The role of its civilian head includes convincing anyone who hears about it that the government is just as confused by reports of a Bureau 39 as they are. Things change, however, once the second-in-command goes rogue in his obsessive pursuit of Superman.



* In ''Series/{{Threshold}}'' the eponymous agency's very existence is classified, with its operatives having to [[ImpersonatingAnOfficer impersonate other federal agencies' agents]] when on the job.
* Series/Warehouse13 doesn't officially exist, and its agents are often recruited from the ranks of the US Secret Service and a typical cover story involves a counterfeit currency investigation (something the RealLife Secret Service does more than protecting the President, since that was the agency's original purpose). They do, however, recruit from other places as well (e.g., Steve Jinks was ATF). In fact, the Warehouse is deliberately apart from the government, as history has proven that none of the artifacts can be entrusted to those in power. Instead, the Warehouse is run by a group known as the Regents, who are regular people with average jobs.

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* In ''Series/{{Threshold}}'' ''Series/{{Threshold}}'', the eponymous agency's very existence is classified, with its operatives having to [[ImpersonatingAnOfficer impersonate other federal agencies' agents]] when on the job.
* Series/Warehouse13 ''Series/Warehouse13'' doesn't officially exist, and its agents are often recruited from the ranks of the US Secret Service and a typical cover story involves a counterfeit currency investigation (something the RealLife Secret Service does more than protecting the President, since that was the agency's original purpose). They do, however, recruit from other places as well (e.g., Steve Jinks was ATF). In fact, the Warehouse is deliberately apart from the government, as history has proven that none of the artifacts can be entrusted to those in power. Instead, the Warehouse is run by a group known as the Regents, who are regular people with average jobs.



[[folder:Roleplay]]
* In ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'', the woman pursuing the superpowered heroes, Sarah Travers, has a badge that links her to the Department of Justice -- however, she says the ''actual'' organization that she represents doesn't officially exist in any form, just in case something goes wrong and she needs to disappear.
[[/folder]]



* In the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series, Section Zero is the completely-classified arm of the [[StateSec Office Of Naval Intelligence]] who handle its InternalAffairs, and have a functional license to kill anyone they have to in pursuit of their missions; they [[UnPerson "erased"]] hundreds of soldiers and test subjects and burned huge numbers of files when they buried the failed [[SuperSoldier Spartan-I]] Program. Even within ONI, they're regarded as an urban legend at most.

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* In the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series, Section Zero is the completely-classified arm of the [[StateSec Office Of of Naval Intelligence]] who handle its InternalAffairs, and have a functional license to kill anyone they have to in pursuit of their missions; they [[UnPerson "erased"]] hundreds of soldiers and test subjects and burned huge numbers of files when they buried the failed [[SuperSoldier Spartan-I]] Program. Even within ONI, they're regarded as an urban legend at most.



* "The Agency" from the ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'' series was this for the first three games. Starting with 'The Omega Strain' the agency was reorganized into an OpenSecret called the International Presidential Consulting Agency (IPCA). Although their existence is now known to the rest of the world their activities are supposed to be highly classified with only the President of the United States having full authority and oversight of the organisation.
* The title project of ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' is also disavowed throughout the entire game. No matter what equipment they donate to member-nations, no matter how many civilians they rescue when dealing with alien Terror Strikes, the organization itself is never revealed. The most that the general public knows is the news reports of highly trained soldiers with advanced equipment being sighted occasionally fighting the alien invaders, with all governments involved denying knowledge about them.

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* "The Agency" from the ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'' series was is this for the first three games. Starting with 'The ''The Omega Strain' Strain'', the agency was is reorganized into an OpenSecret called the International Presidential Consulting Agency (IPCA). Although their existence is now known to the rest of the world world, their activities are supposed to be highly classified classified, with only the President of the United States having full authority and oversight of the organisation.
* The title project of ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' is also disavowed throughout the entire game. No matter what equipment they donate to member-nations, no matter how many civilians they rescue when dealing with alien Terror Strikes, the organization itself is never revealed. The most that the general public knows is the news reports of highly trained soldiers with advanced equipment being sighted occasionally fighting the alien invaders, with all governments involved denying knowledge about them.


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* In ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'', the woman pursuing the superpowered heroes, Sarah Travers, has a badge that links her to the Department of Justice -- however, she says the ''actual'' organization that she represents doesn't officially exist in any form, just in case something goes wrong and she needs to disappear.
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Note that this trope is a government-sanctioned group whose existence the government intentionally keeps quiet. If a government intentionally wipes all traces of one's (or a group's) existence or history of ever existing, that is {{Unperson}}.

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Note that this trope is a government-sanctioned group whose existence the government intentionally keeps quiet. If a government intentionally wipes all traces of one's (or a group's) existence or history of ever existing, that is {{Unperson}}.
UnPerson.



** The Rainbow counter-terror unit in the Creator/TomClancy book and video game series ''VideoGame/RainbowSix''. Officially all its operations were performed by special forces units loyal to the country they occurred in. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, ex-KGB freelancer Dimitri Popov realizes what's going on due to a British member of the team habitually smoking a pipe after operations.]] By the later Ryanverse novel ''The Teeth of the Tiger'', Rainbow has apparently become an OpenSecret in the government.

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** The Rainbow counter-terror unit in the Creator/TomClancy book and video game series ''VideoGame/RainbowSix''. Officially all its operations were performed by special forces units loyal to the country they occurred in. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, ex-KGB freelancer Dimitri Popov realizes what's going on due to a British member of the team habitually smoking a pipe after operations.]] By the later Ryanverse novel ''The Teeth of the Tiger'', ''Literature/TheTeethOfTheTiger'', Rainbow has apparently become an OpenSecret in the government.

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SubTrope of GovernmentAgencyOfFiction and CovertGroup and often a supertrope to TheMenInBlack. Compare GovernmentConspiracy and ShadowGovernment. May overlap with BenevolentConspiracy and MilkmanConspiracy. Likely to reside in a BlackSite. Parody examples (or even non-parody ones) may employ a SuspiciouslySpecificDenial.

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SubTrope of GovernmentAgencyOfFiction and CovertGroup and often a supertrope SuperTrope to TheMenInBlack. Compare GovernmentConspiracy and ShadowGovernment. May overlap with BenevolentConspiracy and MilkmanConspiracy. Likely to reside in a BlackSite. Parody examples (or even non-parody ones) may employ a SuspiciouslySpecificDenial.



* Hypnos of ''Anime/DigimonTamers''. Originally, it was kept secret because its signals intelligence activities could be seen as privacy violations.
** Hypnos is an interesting variation in that its actually based on and possibly (according to WordOfGod) a division of a very real former example of this trope in real life, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON ECHELON]].

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* Hypnos of ''Anime/DigimonTamers''. Originally, it was kept secret because its signals intelligence activities could be seen as privacy violations.
**
violations. Hypnos is an interesting variation in that its actually based on and possibly (according to WordOfGod) a division of a very real former example of this trope in real life, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON ECHELON]].



* ''Literature/HeavyObject'':
** Background Unit is only a nickname as the unit itself does not officially exist nor are any of the members recorded as part of the military. They're sent on the dirty, dangerous missions that Legitimacy Kingdom doesn't want traced back to them and all members are removed from official soldier rosters, making them completely expendable. [[spoiler:The only reason Qwenthur and Havia dodge a court-martial after Unicorn lets them take the fall for an explosion in a city is that they were never officially there]].
** Stalk Killer Unit specializes in exfiltrating high value personnel from battlefields where the WhiteFlag is ignored. Because their existence disproves the myth of "clean wars", their existence is only known to high-ranking officers in the Kingdom military. Having no official records also frees them to use illegal tactics that the Kingdom officially condemns, namely the use of dumb landmines.
** Cinderella Wizard Unit specializes in scouting Elite candidates from war orphans in the Northern Restricted Zone. As this wouldn't look good to the public, the unit officially doesn't exist.
** The Information Alliance captured a portion of the 37th's soldiers and used official channels to report they were killed in combat. They were then reformed as the "101st Zombie Platoon", which the Alliance could happily abuse and use as cannon fodder while denying all knowledge of their existence.



[[folder:Comic Book]]
* {{ComicBook/Deadpool}} plays with this. The Risk Management Agency ''does'' exist, but it's a branch of the department of ''agriculture''. Not intelligence. Their spy agency operates within their farming-related agency illegally without anybody, including the branch of the government they're a part of knowing what they're actually doing and are trying to find leverage so that they can come clean as a legitimate spy agency without worrying about being shut down. When Deadpool rats them out, the secretary of agriculture shuts them down.
* ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse:
** ''ComicBook/DoubleDuck'' has The Agency -- full name, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Agency So Secret It Doesn't Even Have A Name]]. Its existence is not publicly acknowledged until [[spoiler:the story "Reboot" has the government disband it and replace it with the less expensive Direction, that proceeds to expose the former existence of the Agency in the name of trasparency, never mind they exposed all the Agency's operators to revenge from the criminals they had opposed]].
** ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' has a spy being about to say the name of an intelligence agency -- only for his father, a military intelligence sergeant, to ''pull a gun on him'' as he says that even mentioning the name requires a rather high security clearance he doesn't have anymore, no matter that they had just seen an ID badge of said agency. [[spoiler:As ''Paperinik New Adventures'' and ''Double Duck'' are specifically part of the same continuity, it could have been The Agency]].

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[[folder:Comic Book]]
Books]]
* {{ComicBook/Deadpool}} ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'' plays with this. The Risk Management Agency ''does'' exist, but it's a branch of the department of ''agriculture''. Not intelligence. Their spy agency operates within their farming-related agency illegally without anybody, including the branch of the government they're a part of knowing what they're actually doing and are trying to find leverage so that they can come clean as a legitimate spy agency without worrying about being shut down. When Deadpool rats them out, the secretary of agriculture shuts them down.
* ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse:
''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'':
** ''ComicBook/DoubleDuck'' has The Agency -- full name, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Agency So Secret It Doesn't Even Have A Name]]. Its existence is not publicly acknowledged until [[spoiler:the story "Reboot" has the government disband it and replace it with the less expensive Direction, that proceeds to expose the former existence of the Agency in the name of trasparency, transparency, never mind they exposed all the Agency's operators to revenge from the criminals they had opposed]].
** ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' has a spy being about to say the name of an intelligence agency -- only for his father, a military intelligence sergeant, to ''pull a gun on him'' as he says that even mentioning the name requires a rather high security clearance he doesn't have anymore, no matter that they had just seen an ID badge of said agency. [[spoiler:As ''Paperinik New Adventures'' and ''Double Duck'' are specifically part of the same continuity, it could have been The Agency]].Agency.]]



* Parodied in ''ComicStrip/AngusOg'' where the Laird mentions he has a friend who "does something very hush-hush for the (British) government", only for his wife to say, in a surprised voice, that she thought he worked for [=MI6=].

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* Parodied in ''ComicStrip/AngusOg'' where when the Laird mentions that he has a friend who "does something very hush-hush for the (British) government", only for his wife to say, in a surprised voice, that she thought he worked for [=MI6=].



* The movie ''Film/ConspiracyTheory'' features an unnamed government agency, and the way one of their agents describes it could be an excellent page quote:
-->"If the intelligence community is a family, think of us as the uncle no-one talks about."
** Trivia note: The director of that movie also directed episodes of [[Series/TheManFromUNCLE a certain tv series]].
* When the investigator protagonists in Vladimir Serebryakov and Andrey Ulanov's ''From America with Love'' reach the NSA, they are in effect never get past the doorman. After they were politely shown the door by a self-professed Major in a plain civilian suit, one of them remarks that it's only to be expected — the NSA headquarters was the only building he'd seen since the arrival to the USA ''[[SeriousBusiness which had the false windows]]''.

to:

* The movie ''Film/ConspiracyTheory'' features an unnamed government agency, and the way one of their agents describes it could be an excellent page quote:
-->"If -->''"If the intelligence community is a family, think of us as the uncle no-one no one talks about."
** Trivia note: The director of that movie also directed episodes of [[Series/TheManFromUNCLE a certain tv series]].
"''
* When the investigator protagonists in Vladimir Serebryakov and Andrey Ulanov's ''From ''Film/{{From America with Love'' Love}}'' reach the NSA, they are in effect never get past the doorman. After they were politely shown the door by a self-professed Major in a plain civilian suit, one of them remarks that it's only to be expected — the NSA headquarters was the only building he'd seen since the arrival to the USA ''[[SeriousBusiness which had the false windows]]''.



* In ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'', the Kingsmen are an international independent espionage agency that makes sure everything is okay in the world. But no-one knows of its existence.
** Same goes for their American counterpart the Statesmen in the sequel ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle''. In fact, the two didn't know of the other's existence until the Kingsmen had to invoke the Doomsday protocol.
* PlayedWith in the ''Film/MenInBlack'' films and [[WesternAnimation/MenInBlack animated series]]: they started as a government agency in the late 1950s, but by TheNineties are [[NGOSuperpower independent]] and get their funding from [[ETGaveUsWifi royalties on alien technology]], so they mind-wipe even the government officials to deny their existence. (Retconned in ''Film/MenInBlackInternational'', which says they were founded in the 1880s and were always independent of governments.)

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* ''Film/{{Kingsman}}'':
**
In ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'', the Kingsmen are an international independent espionage agency that makes sure everything is okay in the world. But no-one knows of its existence.
** Same The same goes for their American counterpart the Statesmen in the sequel ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle''. In fact, the two didn't know of the other's existence until the Kingsmen had to invoke the Doomsday protocol.
* PlayedWith Played with in the ''Film/MenInBlack'' ''Franchise/MenInBlack'' films and [[WesternAnimation/MenInBlack [[WesternAnimation/MenInBlackTheSeries animated series]]: they started as a government agency in the late 1950s, but by TheNineties are [[NGOSuperpower independent]] and get their funding from [[ETGaveUsWifi royalties on alien technology]], so they mind-wipe even the government officials to deny their existence. (Retconned ({{Retcon}}ned in ''Film/MenInBlackInternational'', which says they were founded in the 1880s and were always independent of governments.)



* The assassination agency CURE in ''Literature/TheDestroyer'' novels, which was created by President John F. Kennedy to protect the U.S. by working outside the Constitution.
* The Dark Clerks in [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Ankh-Morpork]] are a myth, as everyone knows. If they weren't a myth, they'd be employed by the Patrician to deal with problems when the City Watch can't find any evidence of lawbreaking and the Assassins' Guild would leave too much of a paper trail.

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* The assassination agency CURE in ''Literature/TheDestroyer'' novels, ''Literature/TheDestroyer'', which was created by President John F. Kennedy to protect the U.S. by working outside the Constitution.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
**
The Dark Clerks in [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Ankh-Morpork]] Ankh-Morpork are a myth, as everyone knows. If they weren't a myth, they'd be employed by the Patrician to deal with problems when the City Watch can't find any evidence of lawbreaking and the Assassins' Guild would leave too much of a paper trail.



* Much like the ''Film/MenInBlack'' example, PlayedWith by the Ministry of Magic in ''Literature/HarryPotter''. Its name suggests a governmental department on par with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Justice, but no-one in the U.K.'s {{Muggle}} government knows it exists other than the Prime Minister, and they certainly don't ''report'' to him, unless bursting in unannounced at irregular intervals to give him information he has no context for and can't possibly act intelligently upon counts.
* The [[Literature/HonorHarrington Honorverse]] book ''Shadow of Freedom'' introduces the Mobius SecretPolice, an agency whose existence is a state secret, [[OpenSecret even though literally everybody on the planet is aware of their existence.]] In practice, it is a domestic intelligence and espionage agency that exclusively employs undercover agents. One character muses on the fact that on most other worlds, a SecretPolice would not try to keep it's own existence a secret, and wonders if the agency's founder even understood what the phrase meant.

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* Much like the ''Film/MenInBlack'' example, PlayedWith Played with by the Ministry of Magic in ''Literature/HarryPotter''. Its name suggests a governmental department on par with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Justice, but no-one in the U.K.'s {{Muggle}} government knows it exists other than the Prime Minister, and they certainly don't ''report'' to him, unless bursting in unannounced at irregular intervals to give him information he has no context for and can't possibly act intelligently upon counts.
* ''Literature/HeavyObject'':
** Background Unit is only a nickname as the unit itself does not officially exist nor are any of the members recorded as part of the military. They're sent on the dirty, dangerous missions that Legitimacy Kingdom doesn't want traced back to them and all members are removed from official soldier rosters, making them completely expendable. [[spoiler:The only reason Qwenthur and Havia dodge a court-martial after Unicorn lets them take the fall for an explosion in a city is that they were never officially there.]]
** Stalk Killer Unit specializes in exfiltrating high value personnel from battlefields where the WhiteFlag is ignored. Because their existence disproves the myth of "clean wars", their existence is only known to high-ranking officers in the Kingdom military. Having no official records also frees them to use illegal tactics that the Kingdom officially condemns, namely the use of dumb landmines.
** Cinderella Wizard Unit specializes in scouting Elite candidates from war orphans in the Northern Restricted Zone. As this wouldn't look good to the public, the unit officially doesn't exist.
** The Information Alliance captured a portion of the 37th's soldiers and used official channels to report they were killed in combat. They were then reformed as the "101st Zombie Platoon", which the Alliance could happily abuse and use as cannon fodder while denying all knowledge of their existence.
* The [[Literature/HonorHarrington Honorverse]] ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' book ''Shadow of Freedom'' introduces the Mobius SecretPolice, an agency whose existence is a state secret, [[OpenSecret even though literally everybody on the planet is aware of their existence.]] existence]]. In practice, it is a domestic intelligence and espionage agency that exclusively employs undercover agents. One character muses on the fact that on most other worlds, a SecretPolice would not try to keep it's its own existence a secret, and wonders if the agency's founder even understood what the phrase meant.



* In the ''Matt Helm'' series of novels written by Donald Hamilton, the U.S. assassination agency with no name that Matt works for.
* In ''{{Literature/Nevermoor}}'', the Wundrous Society are the elites of the Free State, [[TheOrder and its members are expected to lay down their lives to protect the citizens of the country]], in exchange for special treatment. Wunsoc has two known schools to educate new members: the School of the Mundane (for non-magical skills), and the School of the Arcane (for magical skills). The third book reveals the existence of [[spoiler:the School of the Wundrous, a relic of a bygone era from before Wundersmiths became taboo. Morrigan, a Wundersmith herself, is brought to the ninth level below the building to the School of the Wundrous, where it's revealed that a small group of Wunsoc members have been studying and archiving information for years, to try and preserve information about Wundersmiths. She is promptly forbidden to talk about it publically. It's ''so'' secret, most members don't even know the entire ''floor'' is there, much less the School.]]
* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/ThePuppetMasters'', the narrator explains up front that you've never heard of his organization because they do not exist.

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* In the ''Matt Helm'' ''Literature/MattHelm'' series of novels written by Donald Hamilton, the U.S. assassination agency with no name that Matt works for.
* In ''{{Literature/Nevermoor}}'', ''Literature/{{Nevermoor}}'', the Wundrous Society are the elites of the Free State, [[TheOrder and its members are expected to lay down their lives to protect the citizens of the country]], in exchange for special treatment. Wunsoc has two known schools to educate new members: the School of the Mundane (for non-magical skills), and the School of the Arcane (for magical skills). The third book reveals the existence of [[spoiler:the School of the Wundrous, a relic of a bygone era from before Wundersmiths became taboo. Morrigan, a Wundersmith herself, is brought to the ninth level below the building to the School of the Wundrous, where it's revealed that a small group of Wunsoc members have been studying and archiving information for years, to try and preserve information about Wundersmiths. She is promptly forbidden to talk about it publically. publicly. It's ''so'' secret, most members don't even know the entire ''floor'' is there, much less the School.]]
School]].
* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/ThePuppetMasters'', the narrator explains up front that you've never heard of his organization because they do not exist.



* In ''[[Literature/WizBiz The Wizardry Consulted]]'', when Wiz under a geas bounces his online chats with his friends off of a website that, unknown to him, was one of many fronts for a No Such Agency. Since No Such Agency didn't have a team able to hunt down Wiz (him being an actual wizard on an alternate world where magic works, and No Such Agency not specializing in computer crime anyways), they had to ask the FBI to try and track down where the hacking were coming from. [[FridgeHorror You don't really want to know what would happen if they could have tracked him down themselves.]]

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* ''Literature/WizBiz'': In ''[[Literature/WizBiz The ''The Wizardry Consulted]]'', Consulted'', when Wiz under a geas bounces his online chats with his friends off of a website that, unknown to him, was one of many fronts for a No Such Agency. Since No Such Agency didn't have a team able to hunt down Wiz (him being an actual wizard on an alternate world where magic works, and No Such Agency not specializing in computer crime anyways), they had to ask the FBI to try and track down where the hacking were coming from. [[FridgeHorror You don't really want to know what would happen if they could have tracked him down themselves.]]



* "[[NoNameGiven The Agency]]" in the 2000 ''Series/TheInvisibleMan'' TV series is an interesting variation. Due to their low budget [[OddlySmallOrganisation and few personnel]] they had to exist mainly as a deniable floating task force for other government agencies, such as the Department of Fish & Game.

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* "[[NoNameGiven The Agency]]" in the 2000 ''Series/TheInvisibleMan'' TV series is an interesting variation. Due to their low budget [[OddlySmallOrganisation and few personnel]] they had to exist mainly as a deniable floating task force for other government agencies, such as the Department of Fish & Game.Game.
* ''Series/LoisAndClark'' has Bureau 39, a secret, quasi-military agency tasked with investigating and collecting artifacts from alien sightings and encounters, including [[RoswellThatEndsWell Roswell in 1947]] and, alarmingly to Clark, Smallville in 1966. The role of its civilian head includes convincing anyone who hears about it that the government is just as confused by reports of a Bureau 39 as they are. Things change, however, once the second-in-command goes rogue in his obsessive pursuit of Superman.



* Franchise/StargateVerse:

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* Franchise/StargateVerse:''Franchise/StargateVerse'':



* When Section 31 is revealed in the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E18Inquisition Inquisition]]", Ben Sisko mentions he queried Starfleet Command on the organisation. Command refused to either confirm or deny its existence. It's indicated that most of Starfleet Command and the Federation government ''really don't know'' that Section 31 exists, and it doesn't actually answer to ''anyone''.

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* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
**
When Section 31 is revealed in the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E18Inquisition Inquisition]]", Ben Sisko mentions he queried Starfleet Command on the organisation. Command refused to either confirm or deny its existence. It's indicated that most of Starfleet Command and the Federation government ''really don't know'' that Section 31 exists, and it doesn't actually answer to ''anyone''.



** In ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', Section 31 is more known and is considered to be an official part of Starfleet with its own admirals, ships, and command structure, as well as a much higher tech level than the rest of Starfleet (e.g. holographic disguises for both people and ships, personal attack drones, combadges, advanced tractor beams, fully-functional AI). They wear black badges. However, the events of Season 2 result in the organization being disavowed and going underground once again, for good this time, all official (and lots of unofficial) records wiped. A century later, no one even remembers that such an agency ever existed.

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** In ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', Section 31 is more known and is considered to be an official part of Starfleet with its own admirals, ships, and command structure, as well as a much higher tech level than the rest of Starfleet (e.g. , holographic disguises for both people and ships, personal attack drones, combadges, advanced tractor beams, fully-functional fully functional AI). They wear black badges. However, the events of Season 2 result in the organization being disavowed and going underground once again, for good this time, all official (and lots of unofficial) records wiped. A century later, no one even remembers that such an agency ever existed.



* Series/{{Warehouse 13}} doesn't officially exist, and its agents are often recruited from the ranks of the US Secret Service and a typical cover story involves a counterfeit currency investigation (something the RealLife Secret Service does more than protecting the President, since that was the agency's original purpose). They do, however, recruit from other places as well (e.g. Steve Jinks was ATF). In fact, the Warehouse is deliberately apart from the government, as history has proven that none of the artifacts can be entrusted to those in power. Instead, the Warehouse is run by a group known as the Regents, who are regular people with average jobs.
* ''Series/LoisAndClark'' had Bureau 39, a secret, quasi-military agency tasked with investigating and collecting artifacts from alien sightings and encounters, including [[RoswellThatEndsWell Roswell in 1947]] and, alarmingly to Clark, Smallville in 1966. The role of its civilian head included convincing anyone who heard about it that the government was just as confused by reports of a Bureau 39 as they were. Things changed, however, once the second-in-command went rogue in his obsessive pursuit of Superman.

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* Series/{{Warehouse 13}} Series/Warehouse13 doesn't officially exist, and its agents are often recruited from the ranks of the US Secret Service and a typical cover story involves a counterfeit currency investigation (something the RealLife Secret Service does more than protecting the President, since that was the agency's original purpose). They do, however, recruit from other places as well (e.g. , Steve Jinks was ATF). In fact, the Warehouse is deliberately apart from the government, as history has proven that none of the artifacts can be entrusted to those in power. Instead, the Warehouse is run by a group known as the Regents, who are regular people with average jobs.
* ''Series/LoisAndClark'' had Bureau 39, a secret, quasi-military agency tasked with investigating and collecting artifacts from alien sightings and encounters, including [[RoswellThatEndsWell Roswell in 1947]] and, alarmingly to Clark, Smallville in 1966. The role of its civilian head included convincing anyone who heard about it that the government was just as confused by reports of a Bureau 39 as they were. Things changed, however, once the second-in-command went rogue in his obsessive pursuit of Superman.
jobs.



* The eponymous ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' doesn't exist for the purpose of providing deniable assets to the U.S. government. The program also hasn't had an unknown number of predecessors, all of whom haven't been burned, buried and disavowed the moment they get too close to being undeniable.
** Also, Steven Heck claims to work for a branch of the CIA that doesn't officially exist, but he could just be [[WannabeSecretAgent crazy]]. (Steve is either the second best spy in the world, or crazy enough to be as effective as he is.)

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* ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'':
**
The eponymous ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' Alpha Protocol doesn't exist for the purpose of providing deniable assets to the U.S. government. The program also hasn't had an unknown number of predecessors, all of whom haven't been burned, buried and disavowed the moment they get too close to being undeniable.
** Also, Steven Heck claims to work for a branch of the CIA that doesn't officially exist, but he could just be [[WannabeSecretAgent crazy]]. (Steve is either the second best second-best spy in the world, or crazy enough to be as effective as he is.))
* The Federal Bureau of Control in, well, ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'' is one of these. They're dedicated to investigating, containing, and studying paranormal objects or events (sort of like if ''Series/TheXFiles'' was an entire organization instead of two people in a broom closet). Their headquarters is an EldritchLocation known as "The Oldest House" and its very nature ensures that people don't just stumble upon their activities. They continue to get funding even though the rest of the government doesn't really know they exist because they're the ForgettableCharacter of federal agencies, just another line item on the budget -- so long as they don't ask for too much of an increase it'll get rubber-stamped without a second thought by the VastBureaucracy.
* The title organization in ''VideoGame/TheDivision'' is this up until the start of the game. They are a group of highly trained [[DeepCoverAgent deep cover agents]] seeded throughout the U.S. by the government, whose job is to help contain major crises that are beginning to spiral out of control, and have the advantage of being locals, thus good knowledge of geography, and direct or near direct knowledge of what's going on. The pandemic and societal collapse sweeping New York City in the game convinces the government to activate and reveal them for their first operation.



* Blackwatch, the covert-ops branch of the ''{{VideoGame/Overwatch}}'' organization. While Overwatch functioned as public face and TheParagon, Blackwatch dwelt in the shadows, doing the dirty work regular Overwatch couldn't be connected to. Their reveal by spiteful ex-leader Gabriel "Reaper" Reyes brought them and Overwatch as a whole down.

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* Blackwatch, the covert-ops branch of the ''{{VideoGame/Overwatch}}'' ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' organization. While Overwatch functioned as public face and TheParagon, Blackwatch dwelt in the shadows, doing the dirty work regular Overwatch couldn't be connected to. Their reveal by spiteful ex-leader Gabriel "Reaper" Reyes brought them and Overwatch as a whole down.



* The Third Echelon in the ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' series is a black ops and intelligence agency of the US government. Their existence is hidden even from the NSA, which they are technically part of. When their existence is exposed in ''Conviction'' [[spoiler:by way of a TyrantTakesTheHelm making an AssassinationAttempt on the U.S. President]], they are publicly disavowed, and the President sets up an ''even more'' CovertGroup that doesn't even have a stationary base of operations, Fourth Echelon, in ''Blacklist''.

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* The Third Echelon in the ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' series is a black ops and intelligence agency of the US government. Their existence is hidden even from the NSA, which they are technically part of. When their existence is exposed in ''Conviction'' ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCellConviction Conviction]]'' [[spoiler:by way of a TyrantTakesTheHelm making an AssassinationAttempt on the U.S. President]], they are publicly disavowed, and the President sets up an ''even more'' CovertGroup that doesn't even have a stationary base of operations, Fourth Echelon, in ''Blacklist''.''[[VideoGame/SplinterCellBlacklist Blacklist]]''.



* The title organization in ''[[VideoGame/TheDivision Tom Clancy's The Division]]'' is this up until the start of the game. They are a group of highly trained [[DeepCoverAgent deep cover agents]] seeded throughout the U.S. by the government, whose job is to help contain major crises that are beginning to spiral out of control, and have the advantage of being locals, thus good knowledge of geography, and direct or near direct knowledge of what's going on. The pandemic and societal collapse sweeping New York City in the game convinces the government to activate and reveal them for their first operation.



* The Federal Bureau of Control in, well, ''{{VideoGame/Control}}'' is one of these. They're dedicated to investigating, containing, and studying paranormal objects or events (sort of like if ''The X-Files'' was an entire organization instead of two people in a broom closet). Their headquarters is an EldritchLocation known as "The Oldest House" and its very nature ensures that people don't just stumble upon their activities. They continue to get funding even though the rest of the government doesn't really know they exist because they're the ForgettableCharacter of federal agencies, just another line item on the budget -- so long as they don't ask for too much of an increase it'll get rubber-stamped without a second thought by the VastBureaucracy.



[[folder:Web Comics]]

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[[folder:Web Comics]][[folder:Webcomics]]



* The Website/SCPFoundation:
** The Antimemetics Department deals with anomalies that feed on things like information and memory. Foundation personnel need to take special medication to even ''remember'' that the department exists, let alone their day-to-day roles.

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* The Website/SCPFoundation:
''Website/SCPFoundation'':
** The Antimemetics Department of the Foundation deals with anomalies that feed on things like information and memory. Foundation personnel need to take special medication to even ''remember'' that the department exists, let alone their day-to-day roles.



* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic's'' 100th episode, one of the background ponies is revealed to have once been part of a secret monster hunting agency backed by Princess Celestia, calling herself 'Special Agent Sweetie Drops'. After one of the monsters they captured escaped from Tartarus, every trace of the agency was destroyed in order to maintain deniability, and Sweetie Drops relocated to Ponyville under a different name to keep her cover.

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* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic's'' 100th episode, the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E9SliceOfLife Slice of Life]]", one of the background ponies is revealed to have once been part of a secret monster hunting agency backed by Princess Celestia, calling herself 'Special Agent Sweetie Drops'. After one of the monsters they captured escaped from Tartarus, every trace of the agency was destroyed in order to maintain deniability, and Sweetie Drops relocated to Ponyville under a different name to keep her cover.
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The TropeNamer is the US [[UsefulNotes/{{NSA}} National Security Agency]], which from 1952 to 1957 officially didn't exist. Even after that they were very reticent about what they did,[[note]]For the record, their job is primarily cryptology and analysis of electronic intelligence[[/note]] leading many in the government to snark that the abbreviation NSA really stood for "No Such Agency."

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The TropeNamer {{Trope Namer|s}} is the US [[UsefulNotes/{{NSA}} National Security Agency]], which from 1952 to 1957 officially didn't exist. Even after that they were very reticent about what they did,[[note]]For the record, their job is primarily cryptology and analysis of electronic intelligence[[/note]] leading many in the government to snark that the abbreviation NSA really stood for "No Such Agency."
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A step up (or down) from a CovertGroup is a government agency whose very existence is officially regarded as an UrbanLegend and denied by TheGovernment officials. This allows them to maintain PlausibleDeniability, in case the agency's activities (which are often of the black ops variety) become known to the general public. If, by chance, any outsiders learn of it, they will say IWasNeverHere. There is a likelihood their infrastructure is managed as a CovertGroupWithMundaneFront.

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A step up (or down) from a CovertGroup is a government agency whose very existence is officially regarded as an UrbanLegend {{Urban Legend|s}} and denied by TheGovernment officials. This allows them to maintain PlausibleDeniability, in case the agency's activities (which are often of the black ops variety) become known to the general public. If, by chance, any outsiders learn of it, they will say IWasNeverHere. There is a likelihood their infrastructure is managed as a CovertGroupWithMundaneFront.
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Subtrope of GovernmentAgencyOfFiction and CovertGroup and often a supertrope to TheMenInBlack. Compare GovernmentConspiracy and ShadowGovernment. May overlap with BenevolentConspiracy and MilkmanConspiracy. Likely to reside in a BlackSite. Parody examples (or even non-parody ones) may employ a SuspiciouslySpecificDenial.

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Subtrope SubTrope of GovernmentAgencyOfFiction and CovertGroup and often a supertrope to TheMenInBlack. Compare GovernmentConspiracy and ShadowGovernment. May overlap with BenevolentConspiracy and MilkmanConspiracy. Likely to reside in a BlackSite. Parody examples (or even non-parody ones) may employ a SuspiciouslySpecificDenial.



* Deconstructed in ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' when Lennox, Epps, and the other Special Forces troopers refuse to take orders from the Sector 7 agents because their unit does not officially exist.

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* Deconstructed in ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' ''Film/Transformers2007'' when Lennox, Epps, and the other Special Forces troopers refuse to take orders from the Sector 7 agents because their unit does not officially exist.
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* The Federal Bureau of Control in, well, ''{{VideoGame/Control}}'' is one of these. They're dedicated to investigating, containing, and studying paranormal objects or events (sort of like if ''The X-Files'' was an entire organization instead of two people in a broom closet). Their headquarters is an EldritchLocation known as "The Oldest House" and its very nature ensures that people don't just stumble upon their activities.

to:

* The Federal Bureau of Control in, well, ''{{VideoGame/Control}}'' is one of these. They're dedicated to investigating, containing, and studying paranormal objects or events (sort of like if ''The X-Files'' was an entire organization instead of two people in a broom closet). Their headquarters is an EldritchLocation known as "The Oldest House" and its very nature ensures that people don't just stumble upon their activities. They continue to get funding even though the rest of the government doesn't really know they exist because they're the ForgettableCharacter of federal agencies, just another line item on the budget -- so long as they don't ask for too much of an increase it'll get rubber-stamped without a second thought by the VastBureaucracy.
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Subtrope of GovernmentAgencyOfFiction and CovertGroup and often a supertrope to TheMenInBlack. Compare GovernmentConspiracy. May overlap with BenevolentConspiracy and MilkmanConspiracy. Likely to reside in a BlackSite. Parody examples (or even non-parody ones) may employ a SuspiciouslySpecificDenial.

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Subtrope of GovernmentAgencyOfFiction and CovertGroup and often a supertrope to TheMenInBlack. Compare GovernmentConspiracy.GovernmentConspiracy and ShadowGovernment. May overlap with BenevolentConspiracy and MilkmanConspiracy. Likely to reside in a BlackSite. Parody examples (or even non-parody ones) may employ a SuspiciouslySpecificDenial.
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Added DiffLines:

** Section 31 is implied to continue to exist in the early 25th century and its existence generally known when the Ferengi Sneed asks Raffi if she is working for 31 in the ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS3E02Disengage Disengage]]."
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* ''LightNovel/HeavyObject'':

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* ''LightNovel/HeavyObject'':''Literature/HeavyObject'':



* In ''Film/{{Hellboy|2004}}'', one of Tom Manning's jobs is to deny the existence of the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense and cover up all evidence of their missions (which is a deviation from the original comic books, where the Bureau's existence was public knowledge). But in [[Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy the sequel]], Hellboy deliberately reveals the Bureau's existence by appearing on a live news broadcast.

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* In ''Film/{{Hellboy|2004}}'', ''Film/Hellboy2004'', one of Tom Manning's jobs is to deny the existence of the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense and cover up all evidence of their missions (which is a deviation from the original comic books, where the Bureau's existence was public knowledge). But in [[Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy the sequel]], Hellboy deliberately reveals the Bureau's existence by appearing on a live news broadcast.






** Bureau 13, an agency so secret that even its name is rarely known. The one guy that told Captain Sheridan the Bureau's name ended up dead shortly afterwards. (This ended up an AbortedArc: JMS didn't realize the name also belonged to a tabletop RPG when he wrote the line, so it was dropped after the episode to avoid copyright problems.)

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** Bureau 13, 13 in "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS02E06SpiderInTheWeb Spider in the Web]]", an agency so secret that even its name is rarely known. The one guy that told Captain Sheridan the Bureau's name ended up dead shortly afterwards. (This ended up an AbortedArc: JMS didn't realize the name also belonged to a tabletop RPG when he wrote the line, so it was dropped after the episode to avoid copyright problems.)
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** Though this is partially to discourage anyone without clearance from accidentally pulling off onto the exit, as it leads directly to a security checkpoint where anyone without clearance will end up being pulled over and undergo some rather thorough vetting before they're allowed to leave. A shocking number of arrests happen when people driving illegally accidentally pull off onto the wrong exit into the armed hands of the NSA gaurds, not to mention at least one shooting death when a 'bright' individual who didn't want to be arrested thought he would try to run through the armed checkpoint without pulling over.

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** Though this is partially to discourage anyone without clearance from accidentally pulling off onto the exit, as it leads directly to a security checkpoint where anyone without clearance will end up being pulled over and undergo some rather thorough vetting before they're allowed to leave. A shocking number of arrests happen when people driving illegally accidentally pull off onto the wrong exit into the armed hands of the NSA gaurds, guards, not to mention at least one shooting death when a 'bright' individual who didn't want to be arrested thought he would try to run through the armed checkpoint without pulling over.
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Added DiffLines:

* Deconstructed in ''Series/{{Nikita}}''. The fact that division didn't legally exist is what allowed Percy to transform it into a mercenary outfit.
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* The Wiki/SCPFoundation:

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* The Wiki/SCPFoundation:Website/SCPFoundation:

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* The Wiki/SCPFoundation has the Antimemetics Department, which deals with anomalies that feed on things like information and memory. Foundation personnel need to take special medication to even ''remember'' that the department exists, let alone their day-to-day roles.

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* The Wiki/SCPFoundation has the Wiki/SCPFoundation:
** The
Antimemetics Department, which Department deals with anomalies that feed on things like information and memory. Foundation personnel need to take special medication to even ''remember'' that the department exists, let alone their day-to-day roles.roles.
** The Department of Abnormalities is an apparently defunct branch of the Foundation that the the rest of the Foundation knows nothing almost nothing about. There are no records that the Foundation ever had a Department of Abnormalities and no active members have been found.
** A strange inversion of this is the Department of Unreality. The Foundation knows that they have a Department of Unreality, but the department doesn't appear to actually be real. When a new member is recruited, nobody shows up to their orientation and they can't figure out how to contact their new boss, leaving them completely clueless about what their new job is.
** The Foundation's main rival organization, the Global Occult Coalition, is secretly funded by the United Nations.
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* "Section 9" in ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' is not supposed to exist following the events at the end of the first season. Of course, there's a second season and [[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplexSolidStateSociety a movie]]. Of course, this is downplayed, in that they are officially reinstated at the very beginning of the second season after not existing for a while.

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* "Section 9" in ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' is not supposed to exist following the events at the end of the first season. Of course, there's a second season and [[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplexSolidStateSociety a movie]]. Of course, this is downplayed, in that they are officially reinstated at the very beginning of the second season after not (officially) existing for a while.

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* "Section 9" in ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' is not supposed to exist following the events at the end of the first season. Of course, there's a second season and [[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplexSolidStateSociety a movie]].

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** Hypnos is an interesting variation in that its actually based on and possibly (according to WordOfGod) a division of a very real former example of this trope in real life, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON ECHELON]].
* "Section 9" in ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' is not supposed to exist following the events at the end of the first season. Of course, there's a second season and [[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplexSolidStateSociety a movie]]. Of course, this is downplayed, in that they are officially reinstated at the very beginning of the second season after not existing for a while.
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A step up (or down) from a CovertGroup is a government agency whose very existence is officially regarded as an UrbanLegend and denied by TheGovernment officials. This allows them to maintain PlausibleDeniability, in case the agency's activities (which are often of the black ops variety) become known to the general public. If, by chance, any outsiders learn of it, they will say IWasNeverHere.

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A step up (or down) from a CovertGroup is a government agency whose very existence is officially regarded as an UrbanLegend and denied by TheGovernment officials. This allows them to maintain PlausibleDeniability, in case the agency's activities (which are often of the black ops variety) become known to the general public. If, by chance, any outsiders learn of it, they will say IWasNeverHere.
IWasNeverHere. There is a likelihood their infrastructure is managed as a CovertGroupWithMundaneFront.
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** Same goes for their American counterpart the Statesmen in the sequel ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle''.

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** Same goes for their American counterpart the Statesmen in the sequel ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle''. In fact, the two didn't know of the other's existence until the Kingsmen had to invoke the Doomsday protocol.
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-->-- ''Film/{{Red}}''

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-->-- ''Film/{{Red}}''
''Film/Red2010''



* ''Film/{{Red}}'': The CIA Back Room. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in its debut scene.

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* ''Film/{{Red}}'': ''Film/Red2010'': The CIA Back Room. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in its debut scene.

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