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Updated . Example details checked against twitter.com/BarackObama/status/266031293945503744, posted November 6, 2012 (Time, ABC News).
The APA format
Pattern
Last name, A. [@handle]. (Year, Month Day). Up to the first 20 words of the post [Tweet]. Platform. URL
- Up to 20 words of the post in italics as the title, exactly as written, emoji included where you can (APA 7, 10.15).
- Description in brackets: [Tweet], [Photograph], [Video]. APA also notes an attached image or link: [Image attached].
- Platform in plain text.
A real example
Reference entry
Obama, B. [@BarackObama]. (2012, November 6). Four more years. [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/266031293945503744
In-text citation
(Obama, 2012)
When details are missing
- No text: describe the post in brackets as the title: [Photograph of a rally].
- Group account: the group is the author, with its handle.
Common mistakes
- Quotation marks around the post. APA italicizes post text as the title.
- Rewriting the post. Keep its spelling, capitals and hashtags.
Or let Format do it.
Choose Social media post and fill in the account name, handle, post text, platform, date and link. Format writes the References entry and the in-text citation in APA 7, exactly as shown above, and builds the References page when you export to Word or PDF. MLA and APA are free.
Questions
Do I cite a whole profile?
Yes, with [X profile] or [Instagram profile] and a retrieval date, since profiles change.
What about replies?
Cite the reply as its own post.
More citation guides
The same source in other styles
Similar sources in APA
Every source kind is on the APA page, and every style is on How to cite.