How to Reference Social Media Posts (APA, MLA & Chicago Guide)

In today’s digital era, social media posts, tweets, Instagram updates, LinkedIn commentary, increasingly serve as sources of commentary, evidence or public opinion. Yet referencing them in academic or professional writing presents unique challenges: how do you ensure traceability, credibility and style-compliance?

This article explains what it means to cite a social media post, why it matters for scholarly and professional integrity, and how to do so across major citation styles.

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Why referencing Social Media posts Matter

• Social media posts may be edited or deleted, so providing a clear citation helps readers locate the source and verify it.

• Many referencing guides now explicitly include formats for social-media posts.

• Using social media as evidence (for instance, public opinion, expert commentary, or real-time developments) demands transparency about what exactly was used and where.

Social media is everywhere, and often posts provide real-time commentary or public opinion that’s useful in research or professional reports. But these posts can be edited or deleted, so providing full citations helps keep your work transparent and traceable. Unlike peer-reviewed articles, social media posts don’t undergo formal checks, so documenting them thoroughly gives readers a chance to judge credibility and context.

Plus, many style guides now explicitly include rules for citing social media, reflecting how common they’ve become as sources.

What counts as a “social media post” 

Definition & scope

When we talk about citing social media posts, this typically refers to:

• A discrete publicly-posted item on a social platform (e.g., a tweet, an Instagram photo with caption, a LinkedIn update, a Facebook status).
  
  

• Contains identifiable author/handle, a timestamp, the platform, and a direct URL or linkable path.

When citation is appropriate

Use a citation when the post is being referenced as evidence, source of argument, or object of analysis. If the post is simply background or purely illustrative, you may still reference it but the importance is lower.
<ProTip title="💡 Pro Tip:" description="Archive or screenshot the post at the time of citation, social media posts may vanish or be edited." />

Why treat social media posts like any other source

• Traceability: Readers should be able to locate the exact content you used.

• Credibility: Posts may not go through peer-review; documenting them allows readers to assess context.

• Ephemerality: Many posts get deleted or changed; a full citation with date + URL helps preserve what you referenced.

• Style-consistency: Academic/reference writing requires consistent documentation of all sources, digital or otherwise.

Key differences across citation styles

Here we’ll compare how social media posts are cited in three main systems: APA, MLA, Chicago. We’ll also highlight how Harvard style (or variations) approach it.

APA (7th edition)

Includes author name or handle, date (year, month day), content in square brackets indicating the post type (e.g., [Tweet]), platform name, URL.

Example:

Smith, J. [@janesmith]. (2023, March 15). The latest research on climate change shows promising results for renewable energy solutions. [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/janesmith/status/1234567890 

Notes:

• If only username is available, that takes precedence.

• Use retrieval date only if content is likely to change (but normally post date suffices).

• Indicate type of post in square brackets.

MLA (9th edition)

Author (real name if known, else username), title of work or description in quotes, platform, date (day Month Year), URL.

Example:

Keys, Alicia [@aliciakeys]. “Beautiful sunset from my research station in Antarctica…” Instagram, 10 Apr. 2023, www.instagram.com/p/ABC123/. 

Notes:

• If post lacks a formal title, use first words in quotes as description.

• Time of post may be omitted; date is sufficient.

• Platform name is italicised usually.

Chicago (17th / 18th edition)

Footnote or bibliography entry may include author/handle, “text of post,” platform, Month Day, Year, URL.

Example:

Penguin, Oscar [@libechillbro]. “Root beer floats are in honor of National Library Week…” Instagram photo, April 18, 2024. https://www.instagram.com/p/5pjGjvjTH6/.

Notes:

• Footnotes may also include time of post.

• Posts may be treated as “personal communication” if not publicly accessible.

Harvard (various institutional variants)

Author surname, initial, year, title/description, day month, [Social media platform] or similar, URL.

Example:

Turnbull, M. (2016) The Constitution belongs to the people. Those who propose change must approach the task with humility & respect… [Twitter]. 18 December. Available at: https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm/status/808940364048449540 [Accessed 10 January 2017].

Notes:

• Accessed date often included because post may change.

• Title may be an excerpt of post text (if no formal title).

Illustrative examples

Here are a few real-like examples across platforms and styles to show how to fill in the details.

<ProTip title="💡 Pro Tip:" description="When quoting a post, preserve exact capitalization, hashtags, emojis and punctuation.">

Decision-making checklist: How to pick and apply the right approach

Use the following checklist/framework to ensure you handle social media citations correctly:

1. Identify author/handle

• Real name? Use it.

• If only username/handle available, use that.

• If organizational account, use organization name.

2. Acquire date of post

• Year, month, day if available.

• If date not given, use “n.d.” in some styles (e.g., APA).

3. Capture content or description

• If the post has textual content, copy first part (or full text if brief).

• If mainly visual, describe it.

4. Indicate platform & post type

• e.g., [Tweet], Instagram photo, Facebook status update.

• Some styles include this in brackets.

5. Provide direct URL

• Link to the exact post whenever possible (not just the home page).

• If content may vanish, take screenshot / archive link.

6. Choose citation style & format accordingly

• Use correct order, punctuation, formatting for APA / MLA / Chicago / Harvard.

• Consult institutional guidelines if in doubt.

7. Provide in-text/footnote citation and reference entry

• In-text: e.g., (Smith, 2023) or (Smith [[@janesmith]], 2023) depending on style.

• Reference list: full detail per style.

8. Evaluate suitability of social media post as source

• Ask: Is this post reliable? Public? Edited? Curated by author?

• Social media can be supplementary evidence, not sole backbone of argument.

Remember, social media posts are usually snapshots of opinion or commentary. They’re best used to illustrate public sentiment, discourse, or real-time developments, not as stand-alone evidence replacing peer-reviewed research. Always evaluate the reliability and purpose of the post before citing.

What this means in practice

If you’re writing an academic paper, professional report, or policy brief and you reference a tweet, an Instagram post or LinkedIn remark:

• You must treat it like any other source: document author, date, content, platform, URL.

• Choose the citation style you’re required to use (or one appropriate for your discipline) and apply the correct format.

• Provide enough information so that a reader can locate the exact post.

• If there’s a risk the post will disappear or change, capture a screenshot or archive reference.

• Use social posts with caution: the context, credibility and purpose matter. They’re typically best used to illustrate public sentiment, examples of discourse or fleeting commentary, not as a substitute for peer-reviewed evidence.

Master Social Media Citations with Confidence

Referencing social media posts in academic or professional writing requires you to treat them with the same rigor as traditional sources. You must identify author or handle, capture the date, describe or quote the content, specify the platform, and provide a precise URL or retrieval path. 

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The format depends on the citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard) you are using, so always check that style’s rules. While social media posts can enrich your work by bringing in real-time commentary or public perspectives, they also carry higher risk of instability (edit/delete) and variable credibility, so use them thoughtfully.