ArtDependence | World Press Photo is suspending Authorship Attribution of the Iconic 1972 Photograph known as ‘The Terror of War’

Friday, May 16, 2025

Since 1972, the photograph The Terror of War has been credited to Associated Press photographer Nick Út. However, this attribution is now under serious question.

New research by The VII Foundation, revealed in the January 2025 documentary The Stringer, along with separate follow-up investigations conducted by The Associated Press and World Press Photo, suggest the authorship is uncertain, with no conclusive evidence either way.

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.

For more information please see: Executive summary of World Press Photo’s investigative analysis: https://www.worldpressphoto.org/education/research/the-terror-of-war-authorship-attribution-suspension

News article by Joumana El Zein Khoury: https://www.worldpressphoto.org/news/2025/authorship-attribution-suspended-for-the-terror-of-war