How to Cite Social Media in APA Format

Citing social media posts in APA format requires the author’s name, the date of the post, the content or first 20 words, the platform name, and a URL. Different platforms have slightly different formatting conventions.

Basic Social Media Citation Format

The standard APA 7th edition format for a social media citation is:

Reference list entry:

Author, A. A. [@username]. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of post [Type of post]. Platform Name. https://www.example.com/post

Parenthetical in-text citation: (Author, Year)

Narrative in-text citation: Author (Year)

In-Text Citation Examples

When you reference a social media post within your paper, you have two options:

• Parenthetical: The announcement drew widespread public attention (Biden, 2023).
• Narrative: Biden (2023) made the announcement on social media.

Common Variations

Twitter/X Post

Include the author’s real name and username in brackets. Use the first 20 words of the tweet as the title in italics.

Obama, B. [@BarackObama]. (2023, July 4). Today we celebrate the ideals that unite us as Americans and recommit ourselves to building a more perfect [Tweet]. X. https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/example

Facebook Post

National Geographic [@NatGeo]. (2024, March 15). Scientists have discovered a new species of deep-sea coral in the Pacific Ocean that could help us [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/natgeo/posts/example

Instagram Post

NASA [@nasa]. (2024, January 20). The James Webb Space Telescope has captured stunning new images of distant galaxies that reveal the earliest [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/example

Tips for Citing Social Media

• Include the username in square brackets after the author’s real name.
• Use the first 20 words of the post as the title if no distinct title exists.
• Describe the post type in square brackets (e.g., [Tweet], [Status update], [Photograph], [Video]).
• Include emojis if they appear in the original post content, as they are part of the text.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I only know the username, not the real name? If the real name is not available, use the username without brackets as the author: @username. (Year, Month Day).

Should I include hashtags in the title? Yes. Include hashtags that appear within the first 20 words of the post, as they are part of the original content.

How do I cite a social media profile rather than a post? For a profile page, use the account holder’s name as author, (n.d.) for the date, and include a retrieval date since profiles change over time.