Montel Williams Shares Rare Comments About Ex Kamala Harris: 'One of the Smartest People' | Access. 

Detected Manipulations & Suggested Changes

Sensationalism

Emphasizing a personal or emotional angle to attract attention, beyond its actual news value.

The title and framing focus on a "rare" comment about a brief relationship from 2001 between a TV personality and a major political figure, which is only tangentially relevant to current political issues. ARTICLE TITLE: "Montel Williams Shares Rare Comments About Ex Kamala Harris: 'One of the Smartest People' | Access" The content itself is minimal and mostly just repeats that he called her "one of the smartest people" and commented on her 2024 chances, but the headline amplifies the personal/celebrity angle.

3 suggestions

Reframe the headline to focus on the substantive content rather than the rarity or personal relationship, e.g., "Montel Williams Comments on Kamala Harris’s Intelligence and 2024 Prospects".

Clarify in the body why his opinion is newsworthy (e.g., his professional or political perspective) rather than primarily because of a past romantic link.

Reduce emphasis on the dating history and instead foreground the actual political or evaluative content of his remarks.

Clickbait

Using a headline designed primarily to attract clicks by highlighting a sensational or personal detail, often overstating its importance.

The phrase "Shares Rare Comments About Ex Kamala Harris" suggests unusual, potentially revealing information, but the article text only provides a very general compliment and a brief note that he doesn’t think she would win in 2024, without further detail. The focus on "Ex Kamala Harris" and "Rare Comments" is more about enticing curiosity than reflecting the modest informational content.

3 suggestions

Remove the word "Rare" unless the article provides evidence that he has almost never spoken about her publicly and explains why that matters.

Avoid framing Harris primarily as an "Ex" in the headline; instead, use her public role: "Montel Williams Calls Kamala Harris ‘One of the Smartest People’ on Podcast".

Ensure the headline accurately reflects the depth and significance of the content, e.g., avoid implying major revelations when only brief remarks are reported.

Appeal to authority

Relying on the opinion of a notable person as evidence, without providing supporting reasoning or data.

The article presents Montel Williams’s statement that Harris is "one of the smartest people" he’s ever met as the central evaluative claim, without any explanation or context for that assessment (e.g., examples of her work, decisions, or expertise). The authority is his personal experience and celebrity status, not substantive evidence.

3 suggestions

Add context explaining on what basis he considers her one of the smartest people (e.g., specific examples of her work, conversations, or decisions).

Clarify that this is his personal opinion rather than an objective assessment, e.g., "Williams said, in his personal view, that…".

Balance the piece by including other perspectives or data points about Harris’s performance or qualifications, so the evaluation is not solely grounded in one authority figure’s praise.