A historic photo from the Vietnam War, “The Terror of War,” taken by Nick Ut in 1972, is facing doubts over its ownership due to a documentary released earlier this year. The World Press Photo organization has suspended its attribution of the image to Ut after investigations found significant doubt about his role in capturing it.
Ut’s photograph shows Thi Kim Phuc, a young girl fleeing from a napalm attack on a South Vietnamese village. The photo was awarded “Photo of the Year” by World Press Photo in 1973 but is now under scrutiny due to claims made in the documentary “The Stringer.” Two other photographers, Nguyen Thanh Nghe and Huynh Cong Phuc, have been mentioned as potential alternatives who may have taken the picture.
World Press Photo has concluded that the level of doubt is too significant to maintain Ut’s credit, but lacks conclusive evidence to assign authorship to another photographer. The organization will not attempt to recover the cash award Ut received for the photo. Ut also won the Pulitzer Prize for the image.
The Associated Press (AP) has stated that it cannot prove exactly what happened on the day the photograph was taken and has found no definitive evidence to support removing Ut’s credit. However, AP maintains ownership of the photo, and its standards require proof and certainty before removing a credit.
Source: https://nypost.com/2025/05/17/world-news/photo-group-says-it-has-suspended-attribution-of-historic-vietnam-picture-because-of-doubts