The Charlotten is Charlotte's most believable fake news outlet

Between the lines: The editor of The Charlotten agreed to an interview with us, provided he remained anonymous.

• "The satire only works because The Editor is a shadow," he told Axios.

Context: The anonymous creator, whom we will refer to as "The Editor," publishes parody headlines that feel just real enough to cause mild civic panic.

Case in point: During Charlotte's recent winter storm, The Charlotten published a story titled "CMS Cancels School For Remainder Of Year."

• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools responded with a cease and desist letter.
• "Because this content is inaccurate and misrepresents district leadership, I am requesting that it be removed and corrected as soon as possible," the message from CMS's assistant communications officer read. You can read the full letter and The Editor's response in the account's Instagram highlights.

Zoom in: Without revealing too much, we can tell you that The Editor is "a guy in his late twenties" who's lived here most of his life.

• "I attended K-12 here (through CMS, no less) and went to college in the Triangle," he said.

The intrigue: Only two people know The Editor's real identity: his wife and his childhood best friend.

• "Many of my close friends follow it without having any clue it's me," he said. "Some have even sent me my own posts."

Zoom out: Beyond Instagram, The Editor produces a weekly newsletter with about 1,000 subscribers.

• "Everyone reading this needs to unsubscribe to Axios and subscribe to The Charlotten instead right now," he said. (Please don't.)

Flashback: The Editor has been toying with the idea of a parody account for years and initially launched one in 2022 that he gave up early on.

• "I created The Charlotten website first and then its newsletter. Then I created the Instagram."

The big picture: Nearly 30,000 followers in under a year signals something beyond casual meme consumption.

• Charlotte is growing fast. Transplants, banks, breweries, debates about transit — we're developing an identity in real time. Satire becomes a pressure valve.
• "I start with the truth and just use irony to make it more legible. Some people don't understand irony, but most do. And many of those that do are even kind enough to explain the concept to those who don't."

What's next: The Editor hopes to expand his team.

• "The only goal right now for growth is to keep doing what I'm doing. Which includes collecting as many cease-and-desists as possible."

The bottom line: There's really no beef. If anything, The Charlotten might be one of Charlotte's biggest local news consumers. The satire works because it's informed.

We asked The Editor a few more questions. Here's what he said:

What's the story you laughed hardest while writing?

"My story about Mayor Vi Lyles showing up at a City Hall meeting wearing a full imperial Chinese mianfu."

When CMS sent a cease and desist, what was your immediate reaction: panic, pride, or "yeah, that tracks"?

"I thought it was hilarious."

What's the best DM you've received so far? Worst?

"'One thing's for sure, The Charlotten is the worst news source since The Charlotte Observer.'"

Are there topics you've decided are off-limits, even for satire?

"I only ever punch up at the powerful. Or at ourselves. If I can't do either I'm not interested."

If Charlotte officials read this, what should they know?

"Relax. If you do your job well, I won't skewer you publicly. But also know that I will probably skewer you publicly anyway."

Anything else I didn't ask that you'd like to include?

"It's very cute that Axios offered to acquire The Charlotten for $10 million. Unfortunately, we still have unfinished business with CMS."