BOSTON — NBC commentator Sue O’Connell went on a multi-platform rant this week — posting across X, TikTok, and Instagram — after Mass Daily News published a story about parents pushing back on ideology in Massachusetts classrooms, the kind of story that floods comment sections but never seems to reach the six o’clock news.

It started late Tuesday night on X, when O’Connell replied to the story by writing:

“I was a 5-year-old in 1966. I was taught about genders and pronouns. BTW — just because an account has ‘News’ in their handle does not mean the account is an actual professional news site.”

I was a 5 year-old in 1966.
I was taught about genders and pronouns.
BTW - just because an account has “News” in their handle does not mean the account is an actual professional news site. https://t.co/t9yCZIJKoE

— Sue O'Connell: COMMENTATOR, not a reporter (@SueOC_NBCBoston) October 21, 2025

Her post set off a storm. Parents flooded the replies, arguing they never learned the kind of gender identity curriculum now showing up in their kids’ classrooms. By morning, O’Connell was doubling down — attacking Mass Daily News as “not credible,” suggesting it could be “run by political operatives,” and even accusing the outlet of using AI — as if that were an insult in 2025.

Then she took the rant to TikTok, posting a video warning followers to “be skeptical of anonymous X accounts.” On Instagram, she repeated the theme and then later on X — in a bizarre twist — claimed that she herself owned Mass Daily News, apparently to make a point about transparency. The claim fell flat with the outlet’s audience, who mocked the meltdown.

@sue.oconnell.nbcboston

This is gonna make some people mad but we need to talk about it 🎯 So you won't trust a journalist with their name and employer attached... but you'll trust some random anonymous account on the socials? Make it make sense. Comment below—am I wrong? ⬇️ #MediaLiteracy #CriticalThinking #NewsMedia #SocialMedia #FactCheck @NBC10 Boston

♬ original sound - Sue O’Connell

Meanwhile, Mass Daily News continues to blow up. The outlet has recorded over 11.5 million impressions on Instagram in the past 30 days, on top of its massive X presence. Newly launched in early July, the site has become one of the fastest-growing news brands in Massachusetts — proof that people are hungry for coverage that reflects real conversations, not newsroom groupthink.

Mass Daily News was born out of a simple idea: Massachusetts deserved balance. For too long, the state’s biggest outlets have operated like extensions of power — slow, selective, and afraid to challenge the narrative. Mass Daily News was built to change that.

It’s a modern newsroom built for the viral age — fast, fearless, and made to be shared. The mission is simple: give people a voice, cover what others won’t, and make news impossible to ignore.

O’Connell’s reaction wasn’t really about one story. It spoke to how much the media landscape is changing — new voices, faster reporting, and a public that wants news it can engage with in real time.

Headlines you’ll talk about. Stories they won’t.

Mass Daily News.