Alleged Synonyms

Social event report by Mark Twain (allegedly):
   "A woman giving the name of Mrs. James Jones, who is reported to be one of the society leaders of the city, is said to have given what purported to be a party yesterday to a number of alleged ladies. The hostess claims to be the wife of a reputed attorney."

News report on Philadelphia TV station:
   " ... this alleged video" shows an unknown person displaying a gun on the street.

   Extensive use of the term "alleged" and its variants doesn't really get you off the hook, according to lawyers. More to the journalistic point, however, it suggests that the video displayed on the TV screen may not be a video at all; it's only an "alleged" video, like someone (unknown) claims it's a video, but the news presenter doesn't have any proof that it is indeed a video. It may be a montage, or an outright fake. If there is some doubt about its authenticity, say so. Otherwise, our eyes tell us we see a person on the street displaying a gun. Who that person is would be the allegation, or the charge, or the accusation.
   Some synonyms for the term "allege" include accuse, charge, suggest, hint, claim, assert, suppose.

  By definition, to allege is to claim or assert without evidence or proof that an incident has taken place or that it has a specific illegal or undesirable quality.
   In the case of the Philadelphia TV news program, the video itself is real. The incident it depicts -- in this case displaying a gun on the street -- is certainly undesirable, and in the case of a civilian, downright illegal. It's possible, of course, that the person with the gun was police or military, and in which case it's possible that waving the gun was legal. Not likely, but possible.