[3][1] Axe was engaged in freelance writing before joining the Columbia, South Carolina-based weekly newspaper Free Times to cover county politics.

[2] 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.

[5] 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.

[9] Beginning in 2007, Axe began writing a webcomic called War Is Boring and illustrated by cartoonist Matt Bors.

[10] The publication gained particular attention for its coverage of the defense industry, especially the Lockheed Martin's controversial F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

[15][16][17] Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump cited War Is Boring's coverage during an interview with Hugh Hewitt in which he argued the F-35 program should be cancelled.

[26] During the siege of Kobanî, a photo taken by British freelance photographer Matt Cetti-Roberts (at the time working with War Is Boring) of YPJ snipers in the town of Rabia became widely shared by activists on social media claiming it depicted female Kurdish guerilla leader Narin Afrin, who was apparently in charge of Kobanî's defense.

[27] "People have very sudden, very emotional responses to things they see on the internet, and they share them with friends and families [...] But sometimes they do that without checking on facts, or seeing if there's any truth to what they are seeing or reading.