World Press Photo to suspend authorship attribution for ‘The Terror of War’ photograph

World Press Photo has announced it will suspend the authorship attribution of The Terror of War, one of the most iconic images from the Vietnam War.

The photo, often referred to as Napalm Girl, depicts a naked nine-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phuc fleeing a napalm attack in the village of Trảng Bàng. It was originally credited to photojournalist Nick Út, who was awarded the World Press Photo of the Year in 1973.

However, a recent documentary titled The Stringer, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, challenges this long-held attribution. The film suggests that either Nguyen Thành Nghệ or Huỳnh Công Phúc may have been better positioned to capture the image than Út.

At the time, Nguyen Thành Nghệ, a freelance photographer and a stringer for NBC, had sold photos to the Associated Press (AP) but was reportedly denied credit because he was not an AP staff member. The documentary features witnesses who claim Nghệ sold the photo to AP Saigon bureau chief Horst Faas for $20 and a print.

In response, the AP conducted an extensive investigation—its second in four months—reviewing interviews, surviving negatives, camera equipment, and even a 3D reconstruction of the scene. It concluded there was “no definitive evidence” to change the authorship and released a 96-page report detailing its findings.

Nonetheless, a separate five-month investigation by World Press Photo reached a different conclusion. The organisation’s analysis of camera angles, locations, and technical details led them to determine that Út could no longer be confirmed as the author. Instead, it pointed to Nghệ or Phúc as the more likely photographers.

“Based on these findings and according to our values of accuracy, trustworthiness, and diversity, we draw conclusions with regards to attribution,” said Joumana El Zein Khoury, World Press Photo’s executive director.

“It is important to state that the picture itself is undisputed—it represents a real moment in history that continues to reverberate in Vietnam, the United States, and globally.”

Nick Út, however, maintains he took the photo and told the AP that the controversy “has been very difficult for me and has caused great pain.”

World Press Photo concluded that the image remains a piece of contested history and that its true authorship may never be fully confirmed.