The identity of the photographer behind one of the Vietnam War's most enduring and harrowing images, known as "Napalm Girl," is once again under scrutiny. A new Netflix documentary, "The Stringer: The Man Who Took the Photo," claims that freelance photographer Nguyễn Thành Nghe, not Associated Press (AP) staff photographer Nick Ut, captured the iconic 1972 photograph.
The image, officially titled "Terror of War," depicts a naked, crying 9-year-old Phan Thị Kim Phúc fleeing after her village was napalmed by South Vietnamese forces. The photo won a Pulitzer Prize for Ut and became a symbol of the war's brutality. Ut has consistently maintained he took the photograph, and the AP has historically supported his claim.
Claims and Counterclaims
The documentary's central allegation is that Horst Faas, the AP's photo director in Saigon at the time, recognized the photograph's potential impact and instructed it be credited to Ut, a staff photographer, rather than Nghe, who was working as a "stringer"—an independent freelance contributor—and was reportedly paid $20 for his submission. Nghe, now living in California, claims he took the photo while Ut was also present but further away. He states he submitted his pictures to the AP and was compensated, but that Ut received all the recognition and rewards.
These claims gained traction in December 2022 when Carl Robinson, a former AP photo editor in Saigon who worked under Faas, came forward. Robinson, now in his 80s, stated that Faas ordered him to change the photo credit from Nghe's name to Nick Ut's before the image was distributed globally. Robinson, who was reportedly under pressure and possibly disoriented at the time, claims he followed Faas's directive.
Ut's Defense and Legal Action
Nick Ut, who followed his brothers into photojournalism for the AP after one was killed in the conflict, has vehemently denied the allegations, stating they strike at the core of his integrity and career. He has launched a defamation lawsuit against Netflix and the documentary's producer, Gary Knight, in a French court. Ut's legal team argues the film falsely accuses him of building his reputation fraudulently on a photograph he did not take. The trial is scheduled to begin in February 2027.
Investigation and Lingering Questions
In response to the resurfaced questions, the AP conducted its own investigation. The inquiry noted that while Ut always claimed to have used a Leica camera for the photo, evidence suggested it was more likely taken with a Pentax, the brand Nghe was using. However, the AP also acknowledged that Ut possessed a Pentax camera. The investigation found only two negatives from the relevant film roll in the archive, which was not unusual for the time, and concluded that while Ut could have taken the photo, definitive proof was lacking. The AP stated it did not have sufficient evidence to change the credit on the 53-year-old photograph.
Despite the AP's findings, the World Press Photo Foundation has suspended Ut's credit for the image. Faas died in 2012, and his account cannot be directly obtained. Another respected war photographer, David Burnett, who was present that day, maintains he witnessed Ut take the photograph and believes the claims against Ut are an attempt to disprove his authorship rather than prove Nghe's.
The Subject of the Photograph
Phan Thị Kim Phúc, the girl in the "Napalm Girl" photograph, has since become a friend of Nick Ut. She has undergone numerous treatments for the burns she sustained and continues to bear scars from the attack. Phúc lives near Toronto with her husband and two children.