Shadowy US secret agents, known as "Men in Black," exist, and ARE covering up the existence of aliens on Earth, a university lecturer has shockingly claimed.

The startling allegation that the long-running conspiracy theory is true will be made in a course offered by the Akdeniz University in Antalya, Turkey.

Lecturer Erhan Kolbasi, who will lead the course about future alien encounters, is convinced the mythical Majestic 12 (MJ-12) group exists to cover up intelligent alien life, Dailystar.co.uk reports.

The organisation was allegedly created by US President Harry Truman to hide knowledge of aliens away from the public following the alleged Roswell UFO crash in 1947.

The thinking behind the conspiracy theory is that the government is convinced general knowledge of intelligent aliens would undermine belief in religion and the rule of law and lead to anarchy.

The MJ-12 myth became the basis of the popular Men in Black franchise staring Will Smith.