World Press Photo temporarily stops crediting 'Napalm Girl' as Nick Ut

Photo: World Press Photo

The 1973 World Press Photo Award was awarded to Associated Press photographer Nick Ut for his photo The Terror of War (also known as Napalm Girl).

The image of a young Vietnamese girl, specifically Phan Thi Kim Phuc, fleeing a napalm attack in Trang Bang, Tay Ninh , immediately attracted global attention and had a major impact on peace movements.

To this day, the photo is still believed to belong to Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut, a young Vietnamese photographer working for the Associated Press (AP) news agency, who later had a remarkable career.

Three controversial investigations

However, the documentary The Stringer, which raises questions about copyright, journalistic ethics, and the injustices of the Napalm Girl photo, has prompted action from both the World Press Photo organization and the AP. The Stringer premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in January.

Notably, The Stringer received assistance in image analysis from the Paris-based research group INDEX, which has cast doubt on Nick Ut’s authorship. They also provided compelling evidence that the photo may have been taken by Nguyen Thanh Nghe, another Vietnamese reporter.

The question "Who took the Napalm Girl photo?" was raised. Photo: The Stringer.

Faced with this result, the AP news agency and the World Press Photo Organization conducted their own investigations to find out the truth.

While the Associated Press, after a year-long investigation, concluded that there was no "substantial evidence" by AP standards that would warrant changing the attribution of Napalm Girl , the World Press Photo Foundation has suspended its attribution of the 53-year-old photo.

According to the World Press Photo Organization, based on the results of three investigations, their own, the AP news agency and the film crew of The Stringer , they believe that there are still many doubts surrounding the authorship of the photo.

The World Press Photo's final act

Based on its own evaluation procedures, the World Press Photo Organization has concluded that the level of doubt is too great to continue to confirm the current authorship. At the same time, due to the lack of evidence supporting a definitive conclusion in favor of another author, the World Press Photo Organization cannot transfer the authorship to that person.

So they took two important steps. First, they suspended Nick Út’s claim of copyright for the photo. This suspension will remain in effect until there is more clear evidence to confirm or refute the original authorship.

Second, the information attached to the photo has been updated. The photo now has a note that reads: “Due to concerns, the World Press Photo Organization has temporarily suspended the crediting of Nick Ut. Photographic evidence and information about the camera that may have been used on that day suggest that photographers Nguyen Thanh Nghe or Huynh Cong Phuc may have been in a better position to take the photo. Importantly, the photo itself has not been contested and the award for the photo remains intact. Only the authorship is under review. This remains a controversial historical issue and it is likely that the authorship of the photo will never be fully established. The suspension of credit remains in place unless proven otherwise.”

While many people ask the question "Why is it necessary to re-evaluate the copyright of a photo taken more than 50 years ago?", the World Press Photo Organization believes that this is a necessary action.

In an era of misinformation, polarization, even media manipulation and an erosion of public trust, it is necessary to reconsider the approach to authorship, evidence and ethical responsibilities of an organization that has set standards in photojournalism for 70 years.

The current approach may not be a perfect solution, but it respects the complexity of the problem, is open to new developments, and most importantly, encourages dialogue.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/world-press-photo-tam-ngung-ghi-nhan-em-be-napalm-la-cua-nick-ut-post287969.html