A memorandum dated June 14, 1918, written in French, reveals the formula the Germans used to produce invisible ink.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by CIA's own official account of its oldest declassified documents, with independent corroboration from Smithsonian Magazine and New York Times coverage of the 2011 declassification. Exact document contents not independently transcribed by third parties, but core facts (date, language, subject) are consistent across sources. [tier=silver indep_score=0.7 clusters=2 claim_tier=notable | framework convergence=partial on CIA's official account and released document of its oldest classified files (upstreams: CIA Historical Collections Division, CIA 2011 declassification release) — publishers independent, evidence may not be | kind=attributed eligibility=high]
Sources
- Secret Writing: CIA's Oldest Classified Documents - CIA (seed:conspiracy_and_investigation)
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cia-declassifies-oldest-documents-collection-clues-secret-ink-1917-180953518/ (corroboration)
- https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/us/17secrets.html (corroboration)