Release of AP report on the ‘The Terror of War’: Public statement

Public statement following the release of AP’s report “Investigating Claims Around ‘The Terror of War’ Photograph.”

We acknowledge the recent publication of the Associated Press (AP) report “Investigating Claims Around ‘The Terror of War’ Photograph.”

We welcome AP’s engagement with this important controversy and their decision to make their investigative material public.

The report directly references INDEX and raises points that appear to challenge the findings of the digital forensic analysis we conducted, which is featured in the forthcoming documentary The Stringer.

As the film has not yet been released, we are unable to respond to these points in detail without prematurely disclosing analyses and visualizations that form a central part of the documentary. We look forward to the film’s release, when our work can be reviewed publicly, in its full scope and context.

We note that AP’s report introduces additional material that was not available to us during the production of The Stringer. While we are still reviewing these new elements, we have already identified aspects that appear to further support the conclusions presented in our analysis as integrated in the film, and we look forward to exploring them further.

As an independent investigative organization specializing in digital forensic analysis, we stand fully behind the findings presented in The Stringer and reaffirm the conclusion of our investigation as featured in the film: based on our forensic analysis of the film and photographic footage captured on the day, it is highly unlikely Nick Ut was the author of the photograph known as The Terror of War.

We remain committed to transparency, rigor, and critical scrutiny, and encourage ongoing engagement with all available evidence following the film’s release.