The article is devoted to the issues of emotional impact with particular attention being paid to the study of the halo effect which means that when mentioning a well-known political person, his positive image, authority and fame are projected onto all the people around him, forcing readers to accept his opinion without any evidence. The author of the article considers the halo effect as one of the implicit means of evaluating the political events, phenomena as well as politicians. The specific cases and language means of implementing this tool in the political discourse of the modern English-language online media are presented. As evidenced by the suggested analysis of the linguistic data, it is proved that the halo effect is one of the most common ways of exerting manipulation by the author of media discourse on the addressee. The article promotes deeper understanding of modern mass media discursive tools which shape and impact public opinion about the covered events.