Napalm Girl photographer Nick Ut sues Netflix over documentary claiming he’s a fraud

Vietnamese-US photographer Nick Ut (C) holds his Pulitzer and World Press Photo Award, 1972 photograph 'Napalm Girl', depicting Kim Phuc (L) as they attend Pope Francis' weekly open-air general audience in St. Peters' square on May 11, 2022 at the Vatican — (Image credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Over the years there have been several high-profile claims that photographers credited with taking iconic images were actually frauds. The latest of these is the ongoing controversy around Nick Ut, who is accused of stealing credit for the famous Vietnam War image The Terror Of War.

More commonly known as Napalm Girl, the photo depicts a disturbing scene of a naked girl, Phan Thi Kim Phuc, running towards the camera crying with fear, her clothes having been burned away in a napalm strike on a nearby village. Phuc was only nine years old at the time she was immortalized in the photo.

Vietnam War survivor Kim Phuc Phan Thi (L), also known as the "Napalm Girl," poses with photojournalist Nick Ut holding his 1972 Pulitzer Prize and World Press Photo award-winning photograph during the presentation of the Spanish edition of her book at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship in San Jos&eacute; on April 12, 2023 — Ut posing with Phan Thi Kim Phuc, who was the naked girl in the image (Image credit: Getty Images)

Ut has been credited as the photographer since snapping the famous scene in 1972 and even won a Pulitzer Prize for it the following year. Now, he’s suing Netflix and the creators of the documentary The Stringer, for claims it was a freelance photographer named Nguyen Thanh Nghe, not Ut, that pressed the shutter.

Ut filed the suit in early March in France, where the documentary was produced, and is seeking $139,000 in damages and legal costs for the accusations. He says the claims have tarnished his reputation and plans to donate any proceeds from the case to charity.

A collage featuring a road, an elderly man, and scenes of photographers discussing images, highlighting themes of photojournalism — The Stringer claims a photographer named Nguyen Thanh Nghe took the iconic *Napalm Girl* (Image credit: Netflix)

The controversy began early last year with the premiere of the The Stringer the Sundance Film Festival. The documentary puts forward evidence that Nghe as being better positioned than Ut to take the photo. Ut was just 21 and on assignment in Vietnam with the Associated Press (AP) when he created the image, and the AP has defended him stoutly in light of the documentary.

While the World Press Photo Foundation has suspended Ut’s image credit, following an internal investigation, the AP said there’s a lack of evidence backing the claims. For now, the controversy over who really created Napalm Girl is set to continue, at least until the legal proceedings in France come to an end.

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There have also been disagreements over the camera Ut used to take the iconinc Terror Of War, which you can read about next.

I’m a writer, journalist and photographer who joined Digital Camera World in 2026. I started out in editorial in 2021 and my words have spanned sustainability, careers advice, travel and tourism, and photography – the latter two being my passions.

I first picked up a camera in my early twenties having had an interest in photography from a young age. Since then, I’ve worked on a freelance basis, mostly internationally in the travel and tourism sector. You’ll usually find me out on a hike shooting landscapes and adventure shots in my free time.

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