Was Nick Ut Really the Photographer of the Iconic Napalm Girl Photo? New Investigations Raise Doubts

A global controversy is reigniting over one of the most iconic war photographs in history: the Napalm Girl image from the Vietnam War.

For decades, Nick Ut—Vietnamese-American photojournalist for the Associated Press (AP)—has been credited as the man behind the lens. But now, both AP and World Press Photo (WPP) have raised serious questions: Was he actually the photographer? Or has the world been misled for over 50 years?

Two key issues are driving the renewed suspicion: the type of camera used and Ut’s physical location at the time the napalm bombing occurred.

In a recent report, AP acknowledged uncertainty about whether Nick Ut had a Pentax camera with him on that day in 1972. That’s critical—because Pentax is now believed to be the most likely camera used to capture the historic shot, even though AP admits it’s still not 100% conclusive.

Adding to the controversy is an ongoing investigation that casts doubt on Nick Ut’s position at the scene, raising concerns about whether he was in the right place to take the photograph at all.

While AP officially maintains Nick Ut as the photographer—citing a lack of definitive proof to the contrary—it also leaves the door open: the true author could be someone else.

Even more startling, World Press Photo announced on May 16 that it will no longer credit Nick Ut as the author of the image, choosing instead to publish the photo without naming a photographer.

Meanwhile, a new film The Stringer and multiple interviews—including one with the BBC—suggest Nguyễn Thành Nghệ, a lesser-known Vietnamese journalist, may actually be the man behind the lens.

Is history being rewritten—or finally corrected?

Follow the full story on Vietnam Insider.

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Source: Vietnam Insider