Controversy continues over The Girl with Napalm
Associated Press publishes a report and maintains the attribution of the photograph to Nick Ut. World Press Photo suspends the attribution, based on an independent expert report that concurs with Index’s conclusions.
The controversy continues over the attribution of the famous photograph The Terror of War (also known as Napalm Girl), taken in 1972 during the Vietnam War. The documentary The Stringer, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2025, challenges the historical account that Nick Ut, a photographer for the Associated Press (AP), was the author of the photograph.
Index contributed to this documentary by creating a digital 3D reconstruction of the scene, based on a cross-analysis of numerous photos and film footage taken before and after the moment captured. Our conclusion, presented in the documentary, is as follows: it is highly unlikely that Nick Ut is the author of the photograph.
On May 6, 2025, the Associated Press published a report entitled Investigating Claims Around ‘The Terror of War’ Photograph. While acknowledging several inconsistencies in the version of events in which Nick Ut is the author, AP chose to maintain its attribution of the photo, invoking the benefit of the doubt.
This report refers directly to Index and raises objections that seek to challenge the conclusions of our analysis. As an independent organization specializing in digital analysis and 3D reconstruction, we fully reaffirm the conclusion of our investigation presented in the film The Stringer.
On May 16, 2025, the World Press Photo organization announced that it was suspending the attribution of The Terror of War to Nick Ut, a photo to which it had awarded its prize in 1973. This decision is based on an independent expert assessment commissioned by the organization, whose conclusions are consistent with those of our analysis.
Press:
ROLLING STONE — Inside the Battle Over ‘Napalm Girl’ ; August 1st 2025 | THE GUARDIAN — ‘Napalm Girl’ may be work of different photographer, World Press Photo says ; May 16th 2025 | CNN — Who took ‘Napalm Girl’? World Press Photo ‘suspends’ attribution of historic Vietnam War image ; May 19th 2025 | NPR — The ‘Napalm Girl’ photo shocked the world. Now, there are questions about who took it ; June 6th 2025 | LE MONDE — Qui a pris la fameuse photo de « la petite fille au napalm » ? ; May 16th 2025 | LIBÉRATION — Photo de « la petite fille au napalm » : Associated Press continuera de créditer Nick Ut, mais pas le World Press ; May 7th 2025.