A controversy erupts over who actually filmed 'Napalm Girl,' a film that shows the horrors of the Vietnam War.



'The Horrors of War (Napalm Girl)' is a photograph taken on June 8, 1972, showing Vietnamese children fleeing from a napalm bomb attack. The photograph is known to have been taken by

Nick Ut of the Associated Press, but it has been revealed that a documentary film is being produced that claims to have 'discovered the real photographer.' In response, the AP has published a 23-page investigative report that claims that 'Nick Ut is definitely the real photographer.'

AP Report: Investigating claims around 'The Terror of War' photograph | The Associated Press
https://www.ap.org/about/ap-report-terror-of-war/

Documentary Asserts 'Napalm Girl' Was Not Taken by Nick Ut, AP Refutes the Claims | PetaPixel
https://petapixel.com/2025/01/16/ap-refutes-documentary-that-claims-napalm-girl-was-not-taken-by-nick-ut/

The photo on the left below is a photograph taken by Ut, and the photo on the right is a cropped version published under the title 'The Horror of War.' 'The Horror of War' was highly praised as a photograph that conveys the devastation of the Vietnam War, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. The naked girl in the center ( Phan Thi Kim Phuc) was treated for burns after the photo was taken, and later became an anti-war activist.



As mentioned above, it is widely known that 'The Horror of War' was filmed by Utt, but it has been revealed that the documentary film 'The Stringer', which claims to have found the real photographer of 'The Horror of War', will be screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2025. The details of The Stringer are unknown, but

the introduction page states that 'A two-year investigation uncovers the most famous photographic scandal of the 20th century. 50 years of secrets are unravelled in search of justice for a man whose only name remains is 'The Correspondent'', and it is clear that the photographer of 'The Horror of War' was not Utt but a mysterious 'correspondent'.



After learning of the production of The Stringer, the Associated Press conducted a detailed investigation over the course of six months and published a 23-page report entitled 'Investigation into the 'Horror of War' Claims.' According to the report, the AP held a meeting with

Gary Knight, head of the production company behind The Stringer. Knight claimed that 'The Horror of War' was shot by a different correspondent than Uth, who left the film at the AP's Saigon bureau. Uth's boss, Horst Fahs, found the film and falsely attributed it to Uth. Fahs' actions were revealed by the testimony of Carl Robinson, who worked as an editor at the AP.

However, an analysis of Robinson's book did not find any similar statements, and interviews with seven people who worked at the Saigon bureau at the time also showed a consensus that 'Uth was the real photographer.' Based on these findings, the AP concluded that 'historical evidence has been obtained that Uth was the real photographer.' The photo below is a group photo of the Saigon bureau celebrating the Pulitzer Prize win for 'The Horrors of War.' The person wearing the tie on the right in the center is Uth, the person wearing sunglasses to the left of Uth is Robinson, and the third person from the left is Firth.



The report includes other photographs taken by Ut in addition to 'The Horrors of War.'



The full report can be found at the following link.

Investigating claims around 'The Terror of War' photograph
https://www.ap.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AP-Terror-of-War-report.pdf



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