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Social media posts are cited as evidence of what a person or organization said publicly, and they have become routine sources in politics, media studies, public health and marketing. They raise three recurring problems: who the author is, what the title is, and whether the post will still exist when your reader looks for it.
What to Collect
- The account's display name and its handle
- The exact date of the post (and time, if you cite several from one day)
- The full text of the post or caption
- What is attached: image, video, link, poll
- The platform and the direct URL of the post
- A dated screenshot or an archived copy, in case the post is removed
The worked examples are the ones published by the style authorities themselves: a post from APA's databases account, and a NASA Webb Telescope post used in the Chicago Manual's quick guide.
Quick Reference by Major Style
APA (7th Edition)
Author, A. A. [@handle]. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of the post [Description of media] [Post]. Site Name. URL
APA Databases [@APA_Databases]. (2020, September 2). We have curated a collection of journal articles from APA PsycArticles on #COVID19. View: https://bit.ly/2QrWj76 for recent coverage [Image attached] [Post]. X. https://x.com/APA_Databases/status/1301175576703664128
In-text: (APA Databases, 2020)
The post text is italic. Descriptions of attachments go in square brackets before the post type: [Image attached], [Video attached], [Thumbnail with link attached]. Other platforms follow the same template with a different label:
Instagram: Author [@handle]. (Year, Month Day). Caption, up to 20 words [Photograph]. Instagram. URL TikTok: Author [@handle]. (Year, Month Day). Caption, up to 20 words [Video]. TikTok. URL Facebook: Author. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words [Status update]. Facebook. URL LinkedIn: Author. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words [Post]. LinkedIn. URL
Facebook and LinkedIn do not use handles, so none is given.
MLA (9th Edition)
Author Name [@handle]. "Full text of the post, or a description." Platform, Day Mon. Year, URL.
NASA Webb Telescope [@NASAWebb]. "👀 Sneak a peek at the deepest & sharpest infrared image of the early universe ever taken—all in a day's work for the Webb telescope. (Literally, capturing it took less than a day!)" Twitter, 11 July 2022, twitter.com/NASAWebb/status/1546621080298835970.
In-text: (NASA Webb Telescope)
MLA adds the handle in square brackets when it differs noticeably from the account name and helps the reader find the account. It can be left out when the two are near enough identical. For a long caption, shorten the text with an ellipsis. For a post with no text, write a description without quotation marks: Photo of the Carina Nebula.
Chicago (18th Edition)
Footnote, from the Chicago Manual's own example:
- NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb), "👀 Sneak a peek at the deepest & sharpest infrared image of the early universe ever taken—all in a day's work for the Webb telescope. (Literally, capturing it took less than a day!)," Twitter (now X), July 11, 2022, https://twitter.com/NASAWebb/status/1546621080298835970.
Shortened note:
- NASA Webb Telescope, "👀 Sneak a peek."
Chicago quotes up to the first 280 characters of the post in place of a title. Posts are normally cited in notes or in the text only. A frequently cited account or a long thread can be given a bibliography entry:
Chicago Manual of Style. "Is the world ready for singular they? We thought so back in 1993." Facebook, April 17, 2015. https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoManual/posts/10152906193679151.
Author-date in-text: (NASA Webb Telescope 2022)
Harvard (Cite Them Right)
Author Surname, Initial. or Organization [@handle] (Year) Text of the post [Platform] Day Month. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).
NASA Webb Telescope [@NASAWebb] (2022) 👀 Sneak a peek at the deepest & sharpest infrared image of the early universe ever taken [X] 11 July. Available at: https://twitter.com/NASAWebb/status/1546621080298835970 (Accessed: 21 September 2026).
In-text: (NASA Webb Telescope, 2022)
Harvard guides differ on details. Some put the post text in single quotation marks instead of italics, and some omit it. University guides written before 2023 still say [Twitter]. Follow your institution's guide.
IEEE
The IEEE Reference Guide gives a social media format within its section on websites:
[1] P. Costanzo, "Clemson orange uniforms are messing with the color on my TV. And apparently messing with the ND offense, too." Twitter. Accessed Apr. 19, 2021. [Online.] Available: https://twitter.com/PaulCostanzo/status/817826295707041793
In-text: [1]
That is IEEE's own example: author, the post text in quotation marks, the platform, the accessed date, and the URL.
Profiles, Comments and Threads
A whole profile or page. APA cites the profile with "n.d." and a retrieval date, because profiles change:
APA Style [@APA_Style]. (n.d.). Posts [X profile]. X. Retrieved November 8, 2023, from https://x.com/APA_Style
A comment or reply. Cite the commenter as the author and the comment's own URL if it has one. Chicago's short form: Michele Truty, April 17, 2015, 1:09 p.m., comment on Chicago Manual of Style, "singular they."
A thread. Cite the first post, or the specific post you quote. Mention in your sentence that it is part of a thread.
Reddit and forums. APA: Username. (Year, Month Day). Title of post [Online forum post]. Reddit. URL. Reddit posts have titles, so use the title.
A hashtag or trend. You cannot cite a hashtag. Describe it in your text and cite individual posts, or a news article or study about the trend.
Private, Deleted and Expiring Content
- Private accounts, friends-only posts, closed groups, direct messages: your reader cannot see them. APA and Chicago treat them as personal communications. See how to cite personal communication.
- Stories and other content that expires: the same applies once it is gone. Content that stays available, such as a highlight on a public profile, can be cited like other posts.
- Deleted posts: cite an archived copy if one exists (web.archive.org), with the archive URL. A screenshot is evidence you can show your instructor, but it is not something a reader can retrieve.
Think about ethics as well as format. Quoting a private individual's public post in published research can expose them to attention they did not expect. Many ethics boards ask researchers to paraphrase or anonymize posts from people who are not public figures.
Reliability
A post is good evidence that someone said something. It is weak evidence that the statement is true. For a scientific or statistical claim made in a post, find the study or dataset behind it and cite that instead.
Common Mistakes
- Citing a screenshot, a news article's embed or a repost instead of the original post
- Linking to the profile instead of the individual post
- Giving only the year. Posts need the full date.
- Inventing a title. Use the post's own words.
- Correcting the post's spelling or removing its emojis
- Citing a private or deleted post as though readers could open it
- Treating a parody or fan account as the person it imitates. Check for the platform's verification and the account's history.
Sources for These Formats
- APA Style, "X References", "Instagram References", "TikTok References", "Facebook References" and "LinkedIn References" (apastyle.apa.org)
- MLA Handbook, 9th ed., and MLA Style Center, "Citing Material Posted on Social Media Platforms" (style.mla.org/citing-social-media)
- The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed., Citation Quick Guide, "Social Media Content" (chicagomanualofstyle.org)
- Pears and Shields, Cite Them Right; University College Dublin Library, Harvard style guide, "Websites, blogs and social media"
- IEEE Reference Guide, version 3.28.2025, section T, "Websites"
For YouTube, TikTok and other video formats in more depth, see how to cite online videos. Full style rules: APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE.
