Below are the detailed versions for citing sources from various social media sources.
You can also check our MLA Guide's "How to Cite..." page for the entry Social Media posts and for APA you can check our "How to Cite..." page on the APA guide for the entry on Social Media posts.
Below are the detailed versions for citing sources from various social media sources. You can also check our MLA Guide's "How to Cite..." page for the entry on Social Media posts.
| MLA Citations for Social Media | |
|---|---|
| Blog Post |
Blogger’s Last name, First Name. “Title of Blog Post.” Blog/Website Title, Publisher (if different than the Website), Date post was published, URL. |
| ChatGPT | "Description" prompt. ChatGPT, version, OpenAI, Date content was generated, URL for tool. |
| Facebook Status Update |
Last name, First name of the individual who created the Facebook post. “Text from the Facebook post.” Facebook, Date posted, Time posted, URL. |
| Instagram Photo |
Last name, First name or Username. “Photo Title or Description*.” Instagram, Other contributors, Date photo was published, URL.
*If there is no title, create a simple description and do not place in italics or quotation marks |
| Reddit Thread |
Last name, First name or Username. “Thread Title.” Reddit, Date posted, Time posted, URL. |
|
TikTok Profile or Video |
See Social Media Post listing on the library’s MLA Online guide. |
| Tweet |
@username. “Text from tweet.” Twitter, Date posted, Time posted, URL. |
| YouTube Video |
Last name, First name of the individual who posted the video or Username. “Title of Video.” YouTube. Date posted, URL. |
Below are the detailed versions for citing sources from various social media sources. You can also check our APA Guide's "How to Cite..." page for the entry on Social Media posts.
| APA Citations for Social Media | |
|---|---|
| Blog Post |
Last name, F. M. (Year, Month Day). Title of blog post [Blog post]. Retrieved from URL |
| ChatGPT | OpenAI. (Year content generated). ChatGPT (version of tool) [Large language model].URL |
| Facebook Status Update |
Last name, F. M. (Year, Month Day). Status update text [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from URL |
| Instagram Photo |
Last name, First name.*(Year, Month Day published). Photo Title [Instagram post].** Retrieved from URL
*If both a full name and username are available, the full name goes first, followed by the [@username] in brackets
**If the post does not have a caption included, provide a brief description of the post/photo. |
| Reddit Thread |
Last name, F. M. (Year, Month Day). Thread title [Online forum]. Retrieved from URL |
| TikTok Profile |
Last name, F. M. [@Username]. (n.d). Description.* [TikTok profile]. Revtrieved date, from URL.
* Use the first 20 words in the description for the title. |
| TikTok Video |
Last, name, F. M. [@Username]. (Year, Month Day of Post). Caption (1st 20 words) as title.* [Video]. Tik Tok. Retrieved from URL
*Count a URL or other link, a hashtag, or an emoji as one word each and include them in the reference if they fall within the first 20 words. Do not italicize emojis. |
| Tweet |
Last name, F. M. [Username]. (Year, Month Day). Tweet text [Tweet]. Retrieved from URL |
| YouTube Video |
Last name, F. M. [Username]. (Year, Month Day). Title of video. [Video File]. Retrieved from URL
*If no author/creator is listed, just include the username of the account |