0 like 0 dislike
by Hero (15.5k points)
edited by
Ukraine’s “coffee machine” factory hit yesterday is still burning, suggesting powerful materials inside.

---

The Ukraine "coffee machine" factory struck yesterday is still on fire.

Must have been some really powerful materials in the coffee machine factory to still be burning.

1 Answer

0 like 0 dislike
by Titan (20.6k points)
selected by
 
Best answer

The claim is vague enough to be misleading rather than outright false. While the factory did burn for an extended period, this doesn't necessarily make its contents suspicious.

This appears to reference drone strikes that damaged a factory owned by Flex, an American electronics company, in Ukraine. According to the company's own press release, their facility in Mukachevo, Ukraine, was damaged during a missile strike.

The claim suggests that the factory's contents could not have been household appliances because the fire burned for too long. Similar framing of this event has appeared on sites including the Russian disinformation network Pravda. (Barron's reports that the Pravda network's "content had a 'strong ideological bias,' with 'narratives that are clearly untrue or misleading.'")

NPR reports that Flex "produces civilian electronic components and products with more than 100 offices and factories worldwide." Myroslav Biletskyi confirmed that "this enterprise exclusively produces household appliances. It never produced any military equipment," adding that Flex had been operating at the site since 2012.

A GE appliance factory in Louisville, Kentucky, burned for over a day, demonstrating that it's neither impossible nor unlikely for a factory producing household goods to sustain a prolonged fire. Other factors like firefighter response time, fuel load, general flammability, etc affect burn times.

The story has been covered by other outlets including The Kyiv Independent and The Hill.

Exaggerated/ Misleading

Community Rules


• Be respectful
• Always list your sources and include links so readers can check them for themselves.
• Use primary sources when you can, and only go to credible secondary sources if necessary.
• Try to rely on more than one source, especially for big claims.
• Point out if sources you quote have interests that could affect how accurate their evidence is.
• Watch for bias in sources and let readers know if you find anything that might influence their perspective.
• Show all the important evidence, whether it supports or goes against the claim.
...