On Friday, World Press Photo Foundation suspended authorship attribution to the Associated Press (AP) photographer Nick Út for the iconic 1972 photograph The Terror of War or Napalm Girl, which became a symbol of opposition during the Vietnam War.
The attribution is under question after new research by the VII Foundation was released as part of The Stringer documentary in January 2025. Following an independent investigation by forensic analysts and media experts, the documentary asserts that is more likely that the stringer Nguyễn Thành Nghệ or Huỳnh Công Phúc captured the fraught scene.
Separate follow-up investigations by AP and World Press Photo indicate uncertain authorship. As a result, World Press Photo suspended its attribution to Út.
“As our report explains in great detail, there’s simply not enough hard evidence or fact to remove the credit from Nick Ut, and it’s impossible for anyone to know with certainty how exactly things played out on the road in the space of a few minutes over half a century ago,” Derl McCrudden, AP’s vice president and head of global news production, told the New York Times.
“People need to have an open mind, need to see the film and all of the forensic reports and judge for themselves where the truth lies in this story,” Nguyễn Thành Nghệ added.
The suspension of authorship is expected to last until it can be undoubtedly confirmed—if ever.
The photo, however, is still undisputed and its award for “Photo of the Year” in 1973 remains.
The work shows five young children and four armed soldiers running from a napalm attack during the Vietnam War. The children appear to be running in terror, with 9-year-old Kim Phuc in particular naked and distressed. Taken on June 8, 1972, the image had an immediate and lasting global impact. (For her part, Phuc survived her injuries; she is a Canadian citizen and advocate for young victims of war.)
