Axe was engaged in freelance writing before joining the
Columbia, South Carolina-based weekly newspaper
Free Times to cover county politics. The publication gained particular attention for its coverage of the defense industry, especially Axe's coverage of
Lockheed Martin's controversial
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. In 2012, Axe reported in
The Diplomat that U.S. special operations on the
Korean Peninsula may have been infiltrating North Korea to gather intelligence based on quotes he attributed to
U.S. Army Brigadier General Neil Tolley. U.S. officials condemned the report, accusing Axe of making up quotes and attributing them to Tolley. Retired
Navy SEAL Brandon Webb circulated a suicide note ostensibly written and signed by Axe, which depicted him killing himself in shame for making up the story. The note circulated on
Twitter and
Facebook and caused rumors of its authenticity. Webb later took Axe's name off it and said that it was meant to be satirical. Several other reporters who were in the same room publicly came to Axe's defense, saying they heard the same things and that Axe's story accurately quoted Tolley's remarks. Tolley stated that Axe had misquoted him as he was speaking hypothetically. David Axe left
War Is Boring in 2019. Axe was a member of the staff of
Forbes from 2020 to May 2025 as a war correspondent. He now writes for
Euromaidan Press. ==References==