An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally.
J'Accuse…! is an influential open letter written by Émile Zola in 1898 over the Dreyfus Affair.
Bill Gates's Open Letter to Hobbyists from the Homebrew Computer Club Newsletter, January 1976
"J'Accuse...!" is an open letter, written by Émile Zola in response to the events of the Dreyfus affair, that was published on 13 January 1898 in the newspaper L'Aurore. Zola addressed the President of France, Félix Faure, and accused his government of antisemitism and the unlawful jailing of Alfred Dreyfus, a French Army General Staff officer who was sentenced to lifelong penal servitude for espionage. Zola pointed out judicial errors and lack of serious evidence. The letter was printed on the front page of the newspaper, and caused a stir in France and abroad. Zola was prosecuted for libel and found guilty on 23 February 1898. To avoid imprisonment, he fled to England, returning home in June 1899.
Front page cover of the newspaper L'Aurore for Thursday 13 January 1898, with the letter J'Accuse...!, written by Émile Zola about the Dreyfus affair. The headline reads I Accuse...! Letter to the President of the Republic – Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme
Edition of the Polish Życie reporting on Zola's letter and the Dreyfus affair
1898 portrait of Zola by Nadar
The most popular Palestinian Arab newspaper, Filastin (La Palestine), published a four-page editorial in March 1925 protesting the Balfour Declaration, beginning with "J'Accuse!"
