Shortly after World Press Photo suspended Nick Ut’s credit for the famous photo, The Terror of War, also known as Napalm Girl, three former Chairs and jurors of the World Press Photo Contest wrote an open letter to World Press Photo, expressing their dismay at the organization’s decision. Now, 400 professional photographers have signed onto that letter.
PetaPixel previously reported on the letter as part of a broader story on photojournalism industry veterans rushing to Ut’s defense, or at the very least questioning the process by which his reputation and name have been muddied. The contents of the letter itself have not changed, including claims by James Colton, Dave Burnett, and Maria Mann that the World Press Photo’s position is “guilty, until proven innocent!” However, what has changed is the list of signees for the letter.
Joining Colton, Burnett, and Mann in declaring that the World Press Photo’s decision to strip Ut’s credit reflects a “dangerous and flawed position” are around 400 professional photographers, many of whom are famous names who have been involved in one way or another with World Press Photo over the years, both as part of the judging process and as winners. These names include Yunghi Kim, Walter Astrada, Stephanie Sinclair, Don McCullin, Jeff Sedlik, John McConnico, Jan Banning, Steve McCurry, Joe McNally, Samantha Appleton, and many more. The list of people who have signed the letter encompasses a diverse range, from newsroom photographers to world-famous photographers to photojournalism experts and educators.
By signing the open letter, these 400 or so people are also joining Colton, Burnett, and Mann in asking World Press Photo to remove their names from World Press Photo’s “websites, archives, etc., as ever having participated as Chairs and jurors in your contest.” When the trio published their letter, they invited other photographers, jurors, and editors to do the same. Well, they certainly have. They also suggest “that all photographers refrain from entering any future WPP contests.”
“Because, if we base our actions on “doubts” rather than evidence, I seriously doubt anyone would want to have their name associated with an organization that doesn’t follow accepted journalistic practices and ethics,” the letter continues.
While the open letter stops short of definitively stating who took the famous The Terror of War photograph, it explains that there has not yet been sufficient, irrefutable evidence that it was not Ut.
The documentary that kickstarted this firestorm, VII Foundation’s The Stringer, claims that it was instead Vietnamese photographer Nguyễn Thành Nghệ who took the photo. World Press Photo thinks it may also have been Huỳnh Công Phúc, a Vietnamese military photographer, who took the picture.
PetaPixel, like many others, has not been granted the ability to view The Stringer. The documentary has previously only been watchable at Sundance, but it will play at the DC/DOX Film Festival later this month.
The Associated Press has conducted an extensive investigation into the matter. While it cannot prove, nearly 50 years later, that it was definitely Ut who took the photo, the AP did not find sufficient evidence to change Nick Ut’s credit.
“We do not claim to know definitively who took that photo. But we do know that accusing someone without irrefutable evidence, and making a decision to strip the attribution is unwarranted, unreasonable and just plain wrong,” Colton, Burnett, and Mann write. “It’s very simple. If there’s doubt, leave it be until it is proven otherwise — not suspend it until proven otherwise. This mentality will subject World Press Photo to scrutiny for every single photo ever awarded!”
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