Nick Ut, the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, has strongly objected to claims that he did not take the iconic 1972 photo of a terrified child fleeing a napalm attack during the Vietnam War. “I took the photo of [Phan Thi] Kim Phuc,” Ut said in a statement. “I took the other photos from that day that show her family and the devastation the war caused.
No one else has the right to claim that I did not take that specific or any other photo attributed to me because I am the creator of all the work I’ve done since day one.”
The claims are made in the documentary “The Stringer,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. The film explores claims by Carl Robinson, an AP photo editor in Saigon when the image was captured, that he was instructed by Horst Faas, chief of photo operations in Saigon, to incorrectly credit the photo to Ut. The documentary also includes a claim by Nguyen Thanh Nghe, a driver for an NBC news crew present that day, who states that he took the famous image, which allegedly landed at the AP as a freelancer photo.
“More than 50 years later, I cannot understand why Mr. Carl Robinson, a fellow employee of the AP in Saigon at the time, would make up a story and claim I did not take that iconic photo,” Ut wrote. The Associated Press conducted its own investigation into the origins of the photo prior to the film’s release and concluded, “The AP has no reason to believe anyone other than Ut took the photo.”
Ut said the AP’s system for matching film negatives to photographers in Saigon at the time was “fail-proof” and gave credit to Faas for helping get the photo published despite significant pushback.
Nick Ut challenges false photo claims
“This accusation by Mr. Robinson in my opinion is a slap in the face of everyone who dedicated their entire lives, careers to creating authentic, real, and true images in very difficult situations like the Vietnam War,” stated Ut.
Photographers around the world are now rallying to raise funds for Ut’s legal battle against the producers of “The Stringer.” David Kennerly, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and close friend of Ut, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to support Ut’s legal fees. Ut’s attorney, James Hornstein, has released documents and statements to defend Ut, including one from Kim Phuc, the main subject of the photograph. Hornstein contends that the claims against Ut are baseless and points to several discrepancies in the alternative narrative.
Eyewitnesses David Burnett and Fox Butterfield, who were present on the day the photograph was taken, affirm that it was Ut who captured the moment. Their testimony is supported by correspondent Peter Arnett, who remembers Ut bringing the wet print to the AP office. The burden of proof now lies with the documentary filmmakers to substantiate their disputed claims.
Hornstein emphasizes that the claims lack merit and are contradicted by testimonies and historical records.