The Terror of War, Trảng Bàng, June 8, 1972
While the image has traditionally been credited to Nick Út, the available evidence points to a strong possibility that Nguyễn Thành Nghệ took it
The photograph will now carry the following revised note:
"Due to this current doubt, World Press Photo has suspended the attribution to Nick Út. The available visual evidence and the likely camera used on that day indicate that photographers Nguyễn Thành Nghệ or Huỳnh Công Phúc may have been better positioned to take the photograph. Importantly, the photograph itself remains undisputed, and the award for the photograph stands. Only the authorship is under review. This remains contested history, and it is possible that the author of the photograph will never be fully confirmed. The suspension of the authorship attribution stands unless it is proved otherwise."
Following the release of The Stringer, a documentary by The VII Foundation that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, we launched our own investigative analysis into the authorship of The Terror of War. The film, supported by visual analysis from Paris-based research group INDEX, casts doubt on the traditional attribution of authorship to Nick Út and presents compelling evidence that the photo may instead have been taken by Nguyễn Thành Nghệ, a Vietnamese stringer for AP.
https://www.worldpressphoto.org/news/2025/authorship-attribution-suspended-for-the-terror-of-war
