Latest news with #NapalmGirl
Toronto Star
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
‘Napalm Girl' says she has ‘no doubt' who took famous photo amid controversy
It is one of history's most famous photos, an indelible image of fear and helplessness in a long, brutal war. At its centre is a naked nine-year-old-girl, her clothes and skin burned by napalm, her arms outstretched. Her name is Kim Phuc. She is better known as the 'Napalm Girl.' The photo, officially 'The Terror of War,' won a Pulitzer Prize, was named the World Press Photo of the Year in 1973 and is seen as galvanizing anti-war protests that led to the end of the Vietnam War. Nearly 53 years later, it is under fire as a new documentary alleges the photo was not taken by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut, but a Vietnamese freelancer.
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
The real legacy of ‘Napalm Girl'
Advertisement To their credit, both AP and World Press Photo undertook Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up ''Napalm Girl' has become embroidered with media myths — false, dubious, or improbable tales about and/or propagated by the news media,' W. Joseph Campbell wrote in his eye-opening 2016 book, ' Advertisement The photo of the children running from their village is in the same category. Ever since 'Napalm Girl' first appeared, multiple distortions and exaggerations have attached to it. The most pernicious was that the children in the picture had been attacked by Americans. In fact, as contemporaneous news accounts made clear, the napalming of Trang Bàng was a tragic case of friendly fire by South Vietnam. For example, Yet the horror depicted in the photo has Campbell cites other instances of the claim, which keeps recurring. In a story mentioning the photograph as recently as January, Campbell punctures other myths about 'Napalm Girl.' One is that the picture exerted such emotional power that it galvanized American public opinion against the war. Another is that its appearance sped up the US withdrawal from Vietnam. Advertisement Not so. Claims that 'Napalm Girl' stirred Americans to oppose the war have been made again and again. Journalism professor Samuel Freedman's assertion that the 'searing image played no small part in deepening opposition in the United States to the war' is one of many assembled in Campbell's book. But a majority of Americans had turned against the war long before June 1972. As before 'Napalm Girl,' 61 percent of respondents said they opposed the war. That number remained largely unchanged until the war was over. No evidence has ever shown that the photograph had a measurable effect on public opinion. Nor is there any evidence that it shortened the war, another claim that has been made many times — including by Ut, who has told interviewers that the picture 'stopped the war in Vietnam.' In reality, the United States began The tragedy of Trang Bàng was real. The suffering in that photograph was real. But the myth that the image changed history is not. 'Napalm Girl' remains unforgettable — not for the influence it wielded but for the agony it captured. In the end, its true legacy is not about the power of journalism but about the cruelty of war. Advertisement Jeff Jacoby can be reached at
LeMonde
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- LeMonde
World Press Photo Executive Director Joumana El Zein Khoury: 'The legend surrounding the Napalm Girl photo is being challenged'
In January, the film The Stringer, shown at the Sundance Festival in the United States, sparked controversy by claiming that one of the world's most famous photographs, The Terror of War – better known as Napalm Girl – had been wrongly credited to Nick Ut of the Associated Press (AP) when it was actually taken by another Vietnamese photographer, Nguyen Thanh Nghe. Since then, AP has published its own investigation and decided to maintain credit to Ut. However, World Press Photo, which runs a prestigious annual photojournalism competition and awarded the image in 1973, took a different path: It no longer attributes the image to Ut, though it has not reassigned credit to another photographer. The organization's executive director, Joumana El Zein Khoury, explained the reasoning behind the decision. Why did World Press Photo feel the need to take a position on the 'Napalm Girl' photograph? Our organization has existed for 70 years, and we take questions of transparency and accuracy very seriously. When doubts arise about a prize-winning photo, we have a process in place. So, when the documentary The Stringer was shown in January at the Sundance Festival, we conducted our own investigation. We waited for the AP to release its own findings before going public. And we found that there were valid questions surrounding this photo. We decided to keep the 1973 prize for the photograph, but have suspended the attribution until further evidence emerges.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
World Press Photo suspends credit for ‘Napalm Girl' image
[Source] World Press Photo has suspended the credit of Associated Press photographer Nick Ut for the iconic Vietnam War photograph commonly known as 'Napalm Girl,' citing unresolved questions about its authorship. The decision follows renewed scrutiny raised by a recent documentary that challenges Ut's long-standing attribution. The 1972 image, officially titled 'The Terror of War,' shows 9-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phuc running naked on a road after a napalm bombing. It won the Pulitzer Prize and World Press Photo of the Year in 1973 and became one of the most searing symbols of the Vietnam War. Authorship in doubt The controversy stems from 'The Stringer,' a 2025 documentary directed by Bao Nguyen. The film presents testimonies and visual analysis suggesting that freelance photographers Nguyen Thanh Nghe or Huynh Cong Phuc may have captured the image, not Ut. Nghe claims he sold the photo to the AP for $20 but never received formal credit. Trending on NextShark: In response, World Press Photo launched an internal investigation and reviewed archival materials, camera angles and witness statements. The organization concluded that the doubts were substantial enough to suspend Ut's credit, though it has not reassigned authorship due to lack of definitive evidence. AP stands by Ut Ut has denied the claims, saying he remembers taking the photo and helping Phan Thi Kim Phuc get medical care. His attorney, James Hornstein, criticized World Press Photo's decision, telling The Art Newspaper that Ut 'cannot fathom why the World Press Photo Foundation would rescind his rightful award 52 years after making it.' In a statement to the Associated Press, Hornstein added, 'It seems they had already made up their mind to punish Nick Ut from the start.' Trending on NextShark: The AP has conducted two reviews of its own, reaffirming Ut's credit. In a statement, the AP said it found no compelling evidence to override decades of attribution, but acknowledged that the passage of time limits further verification. Phan Thi Kim Phuc has also spoken in support of Ut. 'He took the picture, and he saved my life,' she told The Guardian. 'Without him, I would have died.' Historical stakes Trending on NextShark: While the image's historical significance remains uncontested, the suspension reflects ongoing debates about ownership, credit and accuracy in journalism. World Press Photo said it will maintain the suspended status until new evidence clearly confirms or refutes Ut's authorship. This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices. Trending on NextShark: Subscribe free to join the movement. If you love what we're building, consider becoming a paid member — your support helps us grow our team, investigate impactful stories, and uplift our community. Subscribe here now! Trending on NextShark: Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!
NDTV
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
World Press Photo Pauses Credit For Napalm Girl, Historic Vietnam War Image
One of the most haunting images of the Vietnam War may not have been taken by the photographer it has long been credited to. World Press Photo has suspended its long-held credit to Associated Press (AP) photographer Nick Ut for the famous 'Napalm Girl' photograph, officially titled 'The Terror of War'. The picture of nine-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phuc running naked and severely burned after a napalm attack won Mr Ut a Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Now the organisation, which named the picture "Photo of the Year" in 1973, announced on Friday that it was pausing attribution to Mr Ut following a detailed review. A report by World Press Photo said, "Visual and technical evidence leans toward" a new theory that Vietnamese freelance photographer Nguyen Thanh Nghe may have taken the photo instead. During the Vietnam War, napalm, a highly flammable gel, was widely used by US and South Vietnamese forces to destroy enemy hideouts, often causing horrific burns and civilian casualties. One such attack in 1972 led to the iconic 'Napalm Girl' photo, capturing the war's brutal impact. The photo was published worldwide the day after it was taken. Over the years, Mr Ut stayed in touch with Ms Kim Phuc (the 9-year-old in the photo), who survived her burns and was granted asylum in Canada in 1992. In a 2022 interview with CNN, Mr Ut recalled the moment he took the photo, saying, "I saw Kim running and she [screamed] in Vietnamese, 'Too hot! Too hot!'" He added that after snapping the picture, he put down his camera, helped her and other injured children into his van, and drove them to a hospital. The renewed controversy follows the release of 'The Stringer', a documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2025. The film suggests it was Mr Nghe, not Mr Ut, who captured the moment on June 8, 1972, near the village of Trang Bang. According to the film, Mr Nghe was one of several photographers present at a checkpoint when South Vietnamese planes mistakenly dropped napalm on a group of civilians, including Kim Phuc. The film claims Mr Nghe sold the photo to the AP, and that editors later credited it to Mr Ut, the agency's Saigon-based staff photographer. In its announcement, World Press Photo cited the documentary and a new visual analysis in its decision to pause the attribution. The foundation said "the level of doubt is too significant to maintain the existing attribution," though it said there is still no conclusive proof to assign the credit elsewhere. "This suspension will remain in place unless further evidence can clearly confirm or refute the original authorship," said Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of World Press Photo. Nick Ut has firmly denied the claims. His lawyer, Jim Hornstein, called the decision "deplorable and unprofessional," and said Mr Nghe's claim is "unsupported by a scintilla of corroborating evidence or eyewitness." Earlier this month, the AP released a 96-page report based on interviews, technical analysis, 3D modelling, and old photo negatives. The report found "no definitive evidence" to change the credit for the photo. It said that because of missing information and the passage of time, it's "impossible to fully prove" that Mr Ut took the picture, but giving credit to Mr Nghe would need "several leaps of faith." World Press Photo said there are "strong reasons" to question the current credit. Their review, with help from the research group Index, raised doubts about which camera was used, where Mr Ut was at the time, and if he could have taken the photo at all. Index said Mr Ut would have had to "take the photo, run 60 meters (197 feet), and come back calmly" very quickly, which they called "highly unlikely." The AP disagreed, saying the distance was probably closer to 33 meters. There is also a chance that a third photographer, military shooter Huynh Cong Phuc, who sometimes sold photos, took the picture. The AP said all three photographers could have been in position to take it. The Pulitzer Prize Board said it "does not anticipate future action" on Mr Ut's award. "The Pulitzer Prizes depend on submitting news organisations to determine the authorship of their entries," the board said, citing the AP's findings.
