DeQuincy was founded in 1897 as a railroad town with the Calcasieu, Vernon & Shreveport Railway Company (CV&S) having been completed and Arthur Stilwell's Kansas City, Shreveport & Gulf Railway Company (KCS&G), that was owned by the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad (KCP&G), completed in 1897.

According to the United States Census Bureau, DeQuincy has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.2 km2), all land.

The story identified the mayor as "Lawana Jones, an African-American atheist" and the fire chief as "39-year-old Ronnie Edwards."

Henagan, the chairman of the deacon board at the First Baptist Church of DeQuincy, said that the chief is free to pray while firefighting.

Henagan said that he has no knowledge why he was singled out for a fake news article but noted that he could take no legal action because the reports used fictitious names.