David Axe | |
|---|---|
 Axe in 2011 | |
| Born | (1978-04-11)April 11, 1978 (age 47) Arlington, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | Furman University (BA) University of South Carolina (MA) |
| Occupations |
|
David Axe (born April 11, 1978) is an American military correspondent, blogger, and graphic novelist. Axe founded the websiteWar Is Boring in 2007 as awebcomic, and later developed it into anews blog.
David Axe was born on April 11, 1978, inArlington, Texas.[1][2] He attended Eisenhower High School from 1992 to 1996.[1] After graduation, he enrolled atFurman University and earned a bachelor's degree in history in 2000.[3][1] Then he went to theUniversity of Virginia to study medieval history before transferring to and graduating from theUniversity of South Carolina with a master's degree in fiction in 2004.[3][1]
Axe was engaged in freelance writing before joining theColumbia, South Carolina-based weekly newspaperFree Times to cover county politics.[2][4] In late 2004, he persuaded his editor to let him cover South Carolina guardsmen's deployment to theIraq War and moved to Iraq in January 2005.[4][2] Leaving theFree Times soon after, Axe continued to work in Iraq as awar correspondent forThe Village Voice,The Washington Times,C-SPAN,BBC Radio,Popular Science,Fast Company, andCosmopolitan.[2]
Beginning in 2007, Axe began writing awebcomic calledWar Is Boring and illustrated by cartoonistMatt Bors.[5]
The publication gained particular attention for its coverage of the defense industry, especially Axe's coverage ofLockheed Martin's controversialF-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.[6]
In 2012, Axe reported inThe Diplomat that U.S. special operations on theKorean Peninsula may have been infiltrating North Korea to gather intelligence based on quotes he attributed toU.S. ArmyBrigadier General Neil Tolley. U.S. officials condemned the report, accusing Axe of making up quotes and attributing them to Tolley.[7]RetiredNavy SEALBrandon 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 onTwitter andFacebook and caused rumors of its authenticity. Webb later took Axe's name off it and said that it was meant to be satirical.[8][9] 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.[10]
David Axe leftWar Is Boring in 2019.[11]
Axe has been a member of the staff ofForbes since 2020 as a war correspondent.[12]
