Powerful images feature in Photos That Changed the World

THE IMAGE OF A NINE-YEAR-OLD GIRL, KIM PHUC RUNNING NAKED FROM A NAPALM ATTACK DURING THE VIETNAM WAR HAS BEEN VOTED THE MOST POWERFUL NEWS IMAGE OF THE LAST 50 YEARS, ACCORDING TO A NEW SURVEY

The horrific 1972 photograph taken by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut, of 9-year-old Kim Phuc was published around the world and is credited for having helped end the Vietnam war. It was chosen by 37 percent of people in Britain as the hardest hitting news image of the last five decades. 

Second on the list was the heartbreaking and harrowing image of three-year-old Syrian Aylan Kurdi’s lifeless body washed up on a beach in Turkey. 

Aylan’s family had left Bodrum in Turkey on September 2nd, 2015 hoping to get to the Greek island of Kos but their small boat capsized just 30 mins into their journey. 

The picture taken by Turkish journalist Nilufer Demir was posted on social media and caused a massive surge in donations to charities helping migrants and refugees, with one charity, the Migrant Offshore Aid Station, recording a 15-fold increase in donations within 24 hours of its publication.

A paramilitary police officer investigates the scene before carrying the lifeless body of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi from the sea shore, near the beach resort of Bodrum, Turkey, early Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015. A number of migrants are known to have died and some were reported missing, after boats carrying them to the Greek island of Kos capsized. (AP Photo/DHA, File) TURKEY OUT

Other images in the list include Nelson Mandela leaving prison after 27 years in 1990 and the iconic image of Buzz Aldrin on the moon in 1969.

The survey was commissioned by TV channel HISTORY to launch their new landmark factual series Photos That Changed the World which begins on 21 October 2019 at 10.00pm.

FILE – In this June 8, 1972 file photo, South Vietnamese forces follow after terrified children, including 9-year-old Kim Phuc, center, as they run down Route 1 near Trang Bang after an aerial napalm attack on suspected Viet Cong hiding places. A South Vietnamese plane accidentally dropped its flaming napalm on South Vietnamese troops and civilians. The terrified girl had ripped off her burning clothes while fleeing. The children from left to right are: Phan Thanh Tam, younger brother of Kim Phuc, who lost an eye, Phan Thanh Phouc, youngest brother of Kim Phuc, Kim Phuc, and Kim’s cousins Ho Van Bon, and Ho Thi Ting. Behind them are soldiers of the Vietnam Army 25th Division. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)

A spokesperson for HISTORY, which commissioned the study said: “These images have shaped our world over the past 50 years, and they show that in an age dominated by video, still photos have an immense power to speak to us emotionally and impact geopolitical matters. Kim Phuc features in our programme, Photos That Changed the World, and it is remarkable that she is able to tell her fascinating story decades later.” 

Photos certainly impact our daily lives with 72 percent of people admitting that they have cried due to the sheer emotional power of an image.

An overwhelming 96 percent of the people polled insisted journalists should show an image which shocks us,  if it changes the world or the way we think about the world. 

The six-part series ‘Photos That Changed The World’will premiere on HISTORY® with the first episode airing on Monday 21st October at 10pm. Two 30-minute episodes will play back-to-back with each episode covering one photograph.

All images “Photos That Changed The World, HISTORY®”