Pulitzer Prize-winning photog Nick Ut, the guy smack dab in the center, is chillin’ with Kim Phuc on his left, holding up his iconic “Napalm Girl” pic, which won him that Pulitzer Prize, while they wait to meet Pope Francis during the weekly shindig in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican on May 11, 2022. Kim Phuc, who is the girl in the photo, was just 9 years old when the pic was taken. The photo shows her running down Route 1 near Trang Bang in South Vietnam after an aerial napalm attack on some Viet Cong hiding spots on June 8, 1972. The pic was taken by Nick Ut, the man himself. This is some heavy stuff, man. The Associated Press owns the rights to these photos, so don’t even think about using them without permission.
Months after a documentary came out questioning who actually took the famous Vietnam War pic of a naked girl running from a napalm attack, The Associated Press is like, “Nah, we don’t know for sure.” They released a 96-page report, their second one in less than four months, trying to figure out if Nick Ut really took the pic or not. The doc at Sundance, called “The Stringer,” claims it was actually taken by some other dude named Nguyen Thanh Nghe, but Nick Ut got all the credit. The AP looked into it, but they couldn’t say for sure either way because it’s been over 50 years, some evidence is missing, technology is limited, and some key people involved have passed away.
According to the report, it’s possible that Nick Ut took the pic, but they can’t say for sure. They also couldn’t find any evidence that Nguyen took it either. The AP did a deep dive into this whole thing, interviewed a bunch of people, checked out cameras, built a 3D model of the scene, and looked at old photo negatives from back in the day. Turns out, there were some inconsistencies on both sides. The pic was taken with a Pentax camera, not a Leica like Nick Ut said. Nguyen also said he wasn’t working for NBC that day, even though someone said he was. Out of the 10 people they talked to who were there that day, Nguyen was the only one who thinks Nick Ut didn’t take the pic.
Believing Nguyen’s story would mean taking a big leap of faith, like believing that the one time he sold a pic to a Western news agency, it ended up being one of the most famous pics ever. Nick Ut, who has been saying all along that the pic is his, said he’s happy that the AP looked into it and set the record straight.
Honestly, not really sure why this matters, but it seems like a big deal to some people. The AP owns the rights to the pic, so it’s up to them to decide who gets credit. At the end of the day, it’s just a pic, right? But hey, it’s their job to figure this stuff out, so props to them for doing it. Don’t go using these pics without asking, though. Gotta respect the copyright, man.
David Bauder is the dude who wrote this article. He’s all about media and stuff. If you wanna follow him, check him out at those links. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Don’t go sharing this article without permission.
