World Press Photo Suspends Nick Ut’s Authorship of Iconic “Napalm Girl” Photo
May 16, 2025
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
Share:
The authorship of one of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century, commonly known as Napalm Girl, is now under question. A recent documentary has raised these claims, suggesting that it wasn’t Nick Ut who took this photo after all.
The black-and-white image, officially titled The Terror of War, has for decades been attributed to Nick Ut, a Vietnamese photojournalist with the Associated Press. The 1972 photo shows a naked nine-year-old girl, Phan Thi Kim Phuc, running from a napalm attack. It won the World Press Photo of the Year award and helped define public perception of the Vietnam War.
[Related Reading: Nick Ut, author of iconic “Napalm Girl” photo, attacked in Washington D.C.]
But according to The Stringer, a documentary that premiered at Sundance in January, another photographer may be behind this image. The documentary mentions Nguyen Thành Nghe, a freelancer who was working as a driver for NBC at the time. The film argues that Nghe sold photos to the AP, but never received proper credit because he was not on staff.
The Stringer features testimony from several individuals, including Nghe’s family members and former AP colleagues, who claim he sold the image to Saigon bureau photo chief Horst Faas for $20 and a print. The documentary also presents forensic analysis by experts with the French NGO Index, who concluded it was “highly unlikely” that Ut was the photographer based on technical details in the photo and others credited to him that day.
In response to these claims, World Press Photo has suspended the official authorship attribution. The internal investigation concluded that, “based on analysis of location, distance, and the camera used on that day, photographers Nguyễn Thành Nghệ or Huỳnh Công Phúc may have been better positioned to take the photograph than Nick Út.”
“The photograph itself remains undisputed,” the group said, “and the World Press Photo award for this significant photo of a major moment in 20th century history remains a fact.”
Joumana El Zein Khoury, the executive director of World Press Photo, added:
“It is important to state that the picture itself is undisputed and it is without question that this photograph represents a real moment in history that continues to reverberate in Vietnam, the United States, and globally.”
The Associated Press Stands with Nick Ut
The Associated Press, however, stands by its long-held attribution. Earlier this month, the AP released its second report on the matter in four months. said Derl McCrudden, an AP vice president who heads global news production, said in a statement.
“We left nothing uncovered that we’re aware of and we’ve done it with a great deal of respect to everybody involved. It makes no difference to us if we changed the credit, but it has to be based on facts and evidence. And there is no definitive evidence proving that Nick Ut did not take this picture.”
Despite the controversy, Ut continues to assert his authorship. “This whole thing has been very difficult for me and has caused great pain,” he told the AP. “I’m glad the record has been set straight.”
Still, World Press Photo now lists the author of The Terror of War as officially unknown. “This remains contested history, and it is possible that the author of the photograph will never be fully confirmed,” the organization said.
[via The Guardian; Image credits: LBJ Library photo by David Hume Kennerly via Wikimedia Commons]
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
Related Posts
Nick Ut, author of iconic “Napalm Girl” photo, attacked in Washington D.C.
43 Years Later, Nick Ut Revisits the Scene of ‘Napalm Girl’
“We should show realities of school shootings,” says ‘Napalm Girl’ 50 years after iconic image was taken
Facebook censored, then uncensored, famous photo of ‘Napalm Girl’
Join the Discussion
DIYP Comment Policy
Be nice, be on-topic, no personal information or flames.
One response to “World Press Photo Suspends Nick Ut’s Authorship of Iconic “Napalm Girl” Photo”
5-16-2025
The extensive Associated Press report destroys the claim of The Stringer “documentary,” that Nick Ut could not have taken the “Terror of War” picture. The Report also contains strong eyewitness evidence from every person interviewed or who published accounts of the day, that photographer Nick Ut is entitled to the credit for his famous picture. Given the extensive historical record, Nick Ut cannot fathom why the World Press Photo Foundation would rescind his rightful award 52 years after making it?
World Press took this action without first seeking input from Nick or his counsel other than initial contacts in January of this year before the so-called “documentary” premiered. At that time, the World Press executive director wrote that they would undertake a “comprehensive process,” taking into account all relevant information, including Nick Ut’s position. That never happened. There was no further contact following that email from World Press to seek any information from Nick or his counsel. It seems they had already made up their mind to punish Nick Ut from the start.
Try as the film makers may try to spin the AP report to sell their tale, the AP report details the litany of witnesses who compel the conclusion that Nick Ut is entitled to the credit he received 52 years ago. Only Mr. Robinson and Mr. Nghe claim to the contrary—unsupported by a scintilla of corroborating evidence or eyewitness. Nothing.
AP’s report found that the film contains “misstatements,“ by the filmmakers and mischaracterizes facts by people who were presented in the film. AP also pointed out obvious biases and conflicts of interest of an alleged independent expert who appears in the production. AP’s report also says, “We applied AP’s photo standards to guide us to an outcome. AP’s standards say “a challenged credit would be removed only if definitive evidence … showed that the person who claimed to have taken the photo did not.” All available evidence analyzed by AP does not clear that bar. Thus, the photo will remain attributed to Ut.” They concluded, “No one investigating the creation of a photograph more than a half century later can have any true certainty about what happened. To overrule a photo credit given at the time would require clear evidence the decision made by those at the scene was incorrect. Such certainty is simply not possible to have here.”
Clearly the World Press has a cozy relationship with the producer of The Stringer, twice chair if the World Press Awards, and has become complicit in the attack on Nick. This action reveals how low the organization has fallen. Shame on the World Press Photo Foundation for making such a deplorable and unprofessional decision.
Despite all of this torment, Nick Ut continues to be thankful that AP, after a long and comprehensive investigation, confirms that the credit for his picture stands. He has known that was right, from the moment he took the photo.
Jim Hornstein
Attorney for Nick Ut
Jimh@jimhlaw.com
310-322-7487