For example, in investigative journalism: The claim of wrongdoing relies not on statements attributed to others, as in ordinary news stories, but rather on reportorial fact-finding.
An accusation can be made in an authoritative tone because it has originated from research conducted by the journalist, who takes a position by asserting the "true facts" of the story and implicitly urging those in charge to do something about them.
[2]Responses to accusations vary, and may include confession to the assertion, but also often manifest as "a state of denial, minimalization, or externalization".
The "other side" is told, most often through a villain's admission or dodge, because the nature of the accusation— backed with evidence and confirmed well before a decision is made to publish—is such that there is no refuting it.
These words define and refine an event in crisp, familiar, easily understood, and unambiguously negative terms.
A criminal accusation may be informally made through a declaration made to the public at large (generally through news media) or by the filing of a formal accusation in a court of law by a person legally entitled to do so, generally on behalf of the state by a criminal prosecutor.