After 50 years of silence, a freelance photographer from Vietnam has claimed he took the iconic image of 'Napalm Girl' depicting a naked child fleeing from a bomb in 1972.
Nguyen Thanh Nghe has said that the monochrome photo, which has long been credited to Associated Press (AP) staff photographer Nick Ut, was actually shot by him.
His explosive claim came in a new documentary about the war called The Stringer, which premiered Saturday evening at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
AP bosses have hit back – saying there is “no reason to conclude that anyone other than the long-credited photographer, UT, took the photo.”
The global news agency said it was “surprised and disappointed” that filmmakers depicted it as having reviewed and rejected the film's material.
Titled The Terror of War, it became one of the most haunting images of the 20th century.
An estimated one billion people saw the photo within 24 hours of its publication, with billions more viewed.
UT, now 73, was 21 when he took the photo, which won a Pulitzer Prize.
It was so influential in hammering home the horrors of the Vietnam War that President Richard Nixon even wondered if it had been promoted.
NGHE joined the filmmakers for the post-screening Q&A at the Sundance Festival where he said, through a translator, “I took the picture.”
After 50 years of silence, a freelance photographer from Vietnam has claimed he took the iconic image of 'Napalm Girl' (above) depicting a naked child fleeing from a bomb in 1972
Nguyen Thanh Nghe (pictured at the premiere) has said that the photo, which has long been credited to Associated Press staff photographer Nick Ut, was actually taken by him
AP bosses have said there is “no reason to conclude that anyone other than the long-credited photographer, UT, took the photo.” (Pictured: UT (centre) flanked by the pictured girl, Kim Phuc, to his left) The global news agency said it was 'surprised and disappointed' by the film
Spectators cheered enthusiastically and Nghe did not explain why he waited more than half a century to stake his claim in the June 8, 1972 photo.
The harrowing image shows Vietnamese girl Kim Phuc Phan Ti, now in her early 60s, screaming as she ran naked down the street with her arms outstretched after being severely burned in the Napalm attack.
It was taken seconds after a chemical attack was dropped on civilians in the southeastern Vietnamese city of Trang Bang, causing the group of children to flee.
Nghe said he was there as a driver for an NBC news crew.
He said he sold the image to the AP for $20, and the agency gave him a print of the photo that his wife later destroyed.
Investigations into the claim teams for the Stringer were led by husband-and-wife team Gary Knight and VII Foundation founder and producer Fiona Turner.
It was directed by Vietnamese-American filmmaker Bao Nguyen.
“I'm not a journalist by any stretch of the imagination,” Nguyen said. “I had a healthy skepticism, as I think anyone would, of a 53-year-old truth.
“But as a storyteller and a filmmaker, I thought it was both my responsibility and my privilege to be able to elevate the story of individuals like NGHE.”
The AP said it was calling on the filmmakers to release their contributors from non-disclosure agreements on the film, including NGHE.
Titled The Terror of War, it became one of the most haunting images of the 20th century. UT (pictured above), now 73, was 21 when he took the photo, which won a Pulitzer Prize
Pictured: Vietnam war survivor and 'Napalm Girl' Kim Phuc holds a poster showing the image during a presentation at Liberty Baptist Church in Newport Beach, CA, in 2007
It also called on the filmmakers to share a visual analysis they put into use – and the film itself.
“We couldn't be clearer that the Associated Press is only interested in the facts and a true history of this iconic photo,” the agency said.
A primary source in the film is Carl Robinson, a former AP photo editor in Saigon, who was overturned in his ruling not to use the photo by Horst Faas, AP's Saigon Chief of Photos.
Robinson says in the film that Faas instructed him to “make the staff” and credit it with the photo.
Both Faas and Yuichi “Jackson” Ishizaki, who developed the film, are dead. Robinson, 81, was rejected by the AP in 1978.
On Saturday, a Sundance Institute moderator asked why he wanted to come forward with the allegations now.
“I didn't want to die for this story to come out,” Robinson told the audience after the screening. “I wanted to find (nghe) and say sorry.”
The stringer offers several theories as to why NGHE was not given credit for what was allegedly his photo.
Nguyen Thanh Nghe has said that the monochrome photo, which has long been credited to Associated Press staff photographer Nick Ut, was actually taken by him. (Pictured: Bao Nguyen and Nguyen dan NGhe attend the “The Stringer” premiere during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival at Ray Theater on January 25, 2025 in Park City, Utah)
Pictured: Phan Thi Kim Phuc, left, is visited by AP photographer Nick Ut in 1973
Pictured: Vietnam war survivor Kim Phuc, left, and Pulitzer Prize winning Associated Press photographer Nick Ut, greet each other before her speech at Liberty Baptist Church in Newport Beach, California, Sunday, July 15, 2007
One is that it was common practice at the time to credit personnel over local stringers. Another is that Fass felt loyalty to UT, whose brother, also a photographer, died in the service.
Faas also wrote a memo – hinting that it was common not to credit local Vietnamese stringers because of their 'weird' names.
Representatives for the AP, which first saw the film at its premiere Saturday, also dispute the film's implication that the company reviewed its findings and dismissed them.
“In December, we reiterated our request to see the filmmakers' full materials and they did not respond nor did they include AP's full response in the film,” Lauren Easton, an AP spokesperson, said Sunday.
“We were surprised and disappointed that the film depicted AP as reviewing the film's material and dismissing the allegations, which is completely false.
“AP stands ready to review all evidence and new information about this photo.”
Before the film was published, the AP conducted its own investigation for six months and concluded that it had “no reason to believe anyone other than UT took the photo.”
Knight and Turner met with AP in London last June about the allegations.
According to the AP, filmmakers asked the news organization to sign a non-disclosure agreement before providing their evidence. AP wouldn't.
The film suggests evidence was presented to the AP, which the AP says is untrue.
Pictured: Phan Thi Kim Phuc stands with photographer Huynh Cong “Nick” Ut, at the opening of “The Girl in the Picture” exhibition at the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY, 2001
Pictured: an undated photo by AP photographer Nick Ut in South Vietnam
A variety of witnesses interviewed by AP, including renowned correspondents such as Fox Butterfield and Peter Arnett and the subject of the photo himself, PHUC, say they are certain, now 73, took the photo.
Robinson was one such person the AP attempted to speak to during their investigation, but “was told we could only do so under circumstances” that they said would have prevented them from “taking quick action if necessary.”
The film's research took more than two years. The journalists hired a French forensic team, Index, to help determine whether UT was capable of taking the photo.
The forensic team concluded that it was very unlikely that UT could have done it.
UT's attorney, James Hornstein, had this to say after the premiere on Sunday: “In due time, we will continue to pursue this wrongdoing in a courtroom where Nick Ut's reputation is vindicated.”
Knight referred to AP's investigation on Saturday and told the audience that the company's statement is available online.
“They said they are always open to investigating the truth. And I think it was a very fair thing to say,” Knight said. “Our story is here and it's here for all of you to see.”
He added: “Things happen in the field in the heat of the moment. …we are all stronger when we examine ourselves, ask difficult questions and are open and honest about what is happening in our profession. Now more than ever, I would argue. '
The stringer has no distribution plans yet.
