World Press Photo suspends attribution of award-winning 'The Terror of War' to Nick Út
The World Press Photo will suspend its attribution of the award-winning photograph "The Terror of War," also known as "Napalm Girl," to Associated Press photographer Nick Út.
This comes after research by the VII Foundation, revealed in the January 2025 documentary The Stringer questioned the photo's authorship.
"Investigative analysis from this report indicated 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, rather than Nick Út. Due to this current doubt, World Press Photo has suspended the attribution to Nick Út," the organization said in a statement on May 16.
WPP launched its own investigation into The Terror of War following the documentary's premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The Associated Press also conducted an internal inquiry.
On May 5, AP said that it would continue to credit the 53-year-old to Út.
With the level of doubt "too significant" to maintain the attribution, WPP said it also cannot reassign authorship. The Terror of War won WPP's Photo of the Year in 1973 and also received a Pulitzer Prize.
Moving forward, the photograph will carry the revised note: “Due to this current doubt, World Press Photo has suspended the attribution to Nick Út. The available visual evidence and the likely camera used on that day indicate that photographers Nguyễn Thành Nghệ or Huỳnh Công Phúc may have been better positioned to take the photograph. Importantly, the photograph itself remains undisputed, and the award for the photograph stands. Only the authorship is under review. This remains contested history, and it is possible that the author of the photograph will never be fully confirmed. The suspension of the authorship attribution stands unless it is proved otherwise.”
The Terror of War, taken during the Vietnam War, is a black and white photo of a severely burned Vietnamese girl, running naked down a road after a 1972 napalm attack in southern Vietnam helped alter perceptions of the war and remains a potent reminder of its devastation.
The photo's subject, Kim Phuc Phan Thi, who became Canadian, has continued to bear witness to her ordeal as an adult.
Út remained with the AP for 45 years, leaving Saigon to later work for the wire in Los Angeles, until his retirement in 2017.
Út's lawyer, James Hornstein, said that the photographer hasn't spoken to WPP since The Stringer was released. "It seems they had already made up their mind to punish Nick Út from the start," he said, as per AP.
On Friday, AP said it requires proof and certainty to remove a credit.
"We have found that it is impossible to prove exactly what happened that day on the road or in the (AP) bureau over 50 years ago."
It also said that it understands WPP's decision, and that there's "no question" over the outlet's ownership of the photo.
The Pulitzer Prize Út received appears safe as the body depends on news agencies to determine authorship. Former AP senior editor Marjorie Miller maintains there is insufficient proof to withdraw credit, referencing AP's study.
The board is also not anticipating future action at this time, she said. (With reports from AFP)
