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Who Took the “Napalm Girl” Photo? Inside the AP’s Deep Dive into a Half-Century-Old Icon

Who Took the “Napalm Girl” Photo? Inside the AP’s Deep Dive into a Half-Century-Old Icon

Based on AP’s 2025 Investigative Report. Few photographs have captured the horror of war as viscerally as the image of 9-year-old Kim Phuc fleeing naked after a napalm attack in Vietnam. Known globally as “The Terror of War”—and often referred to as the “Napalm Girl”—the image has long been credited to Vietnamese Associated Press (AP) photographer Huynh Cong “Nick” Ut. Taken on June 8, 1972, the photo won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 and has been hailed as one of the most iconic images in the history of photojournalism.

More than 50 years later, however, a new documentary film The Stringer, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, reignited a long-quiet question: Did Nick Ut really take the photo?

In response, the AP launched a nearly year-long investigation into the authorship of this historic image, culminating in a comprehensive visual, technical, and testimonial analysis. Their full report—published in April 2025—is a remarkable example of journalistic self-scrutiny and transparency. Here’s what they found.

Who Took the “Napalm Girl” Photo? Inside the AP’s Deep Dive into a Half-Century-Old Icon

Why the Investigation Happened

AP’s sole motivation, they clarify, was to ensure that the authorship of the photograph was correctly recorded. Aware of the film’s claims, the organization conducted a review of every available visual asset and eyewitness account. They also tried to contact individuals named in the film, including the alternate claimant, Vietnamese photographer Nguyen Thanh Nghe, and former AP photo editor Carl Robinson.

Neither man agreed to an interview but responded in writing. This added to the trove of perspectives that AP used to compile its findings.

The Film’s Challenge

The central claim of The Stringer is that Nguyen Thanh Nghe, not Nick Ut, took the iconic photo—and that the AP knowingly misattributed it. According to Nguyen, he sold the photo to the AP for $20, and the negative was kept without further credit. However, the film’s account is riddled with inconsistencies, and AP’s findings point out several factual and visual discrepancies.

What the AP Found

After extensive archival research and interviews, the AP concluded that:

  • There is no definitive evidence to remove credit from Nick Ut.

  • Ut had the technical and physical ability to take the photo, based on other images he shot that day and witness testimony.

  • The image may not have been taken with a Leica, as long believed, but likely with a Pentax camera—a brand both Ut and Nguyen used.

  • Gaps remain in the timeline, and visual evidence shows multiple photographers in the vicinity.

  • No other frames from the roll that includes the famous image have been found, raising questions but not providing disproof.

  • Witness testimony overwhelmingly supports Ut’s authorship, including journalists on the scene and Kim Phuc’s own family.

Crucially, AP stated its photo credit standards require definitive evidence to overturn attribution—evidence that was not found.

Contested Claims in the Film

AP’s review highlighted serious concerns with The Stringer, including:

  • Misrepresentation of interviews (e.g., Kim Phuc’s cousin Ho Ti Hien, who told AP she never doubted Ut’s authorship).

  • Omission of relevant visual evidence and NBC footage showing other possible photographers.

  • An undisclosed professional relationship between the filmmaker and Santiago Lyon, a supposed impartial expert in the film.

  • Internal contradictions and factual errors between what Nguyen said in the film vs. in written answers to AP.

Despite claiming to include 55 testimonies, the film fails to deliver concrete proof that anyone but Ut took the photo.

Who Is Nick Ut?

Nick Ut began working for AP at 16 after his brother, also an AP photographer, was killed in Vietnam. By the time he took “The Terror of War”, Ut had already built a reputation for determination and visual instinct. He stayed with the AP for 45 years before retiring in 2017. At no point during his career did anyone formally challenge his credit for the photo—until now.

Ut has repeatedly stated that he remembers sprinting forward with other journalists, snapping the image with a wide-angle lens, and rushing Kim Phuc to the hospital afterward—something confirmed by multiple eyewitnesses.

Conclusions and Unanswered Questions

While the investigation raised questions—such as which camera took the photo and why other negatives are missing—it found no conclusive evidence to reassign credit. The AP’s standards require that:

“A challenged credit would be removed only if definitive evidence showed that the person who claimed to have taken the photo did not.”

That threshold was not met.

Final Word: A Story Bigger Than a Shutter Click

As AP’s report states, no photo should be credited based on assumptions, but nor should credit be stripped without proof. This isn’t just a debate over authorship—it’s a meditation on memory, trauma, legacy, and truth.

The image of Kim Phuc running down that road remains a symbol of war’s devastation. And until or unless new irrefutable evidence emerges, it remains credited to Nick Ut.

Full credit and source: This post is based on the April 2025 report published by The Associated Press, which includes in-depth analysis, interviews, and visual documentation.