A social media posting should contain the same elements as any other source.
| Author | Usually account name, although you can also include the social media handle in brackets after the name. |
| Title of Source |
Text of the post in quotation marks. The text can be shortened with an ellipsis at the end. If the post is an image provide a description of the image instead of text. |
| Title of Container | Name of Social Media site |
| Date | If the precise date is given, use that. Otherwise list the copyright date of the page. |
| Location |
The URL (link) for that post. If the post does not have a unique URL share the URL for the creator's account instead. |
For further guidance and examples see this MLA Style Center page - "Citing Material Posted on Social Media Platforms" by Jennifer Rappaport. You can also search for specific examples (i.e. citations for TicTok, Reddit, Instagram, Snapchat etc.) on the MLA Style Center website.
Author's Last Name, First Name or Username if real name not provided. "Title of Blog Post." Name of Blog, Blog Network/Publisher if given, Day Month Year of blog post, URL of blog post. Accessed Day Month Year blog was visited.
| Works Cited List Example | Naish, Darren. "If Bigfoot Were Real." Tetrapod Zoology, Scientific American Blogs, 27 June 2016, blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/if-bigfoot-were-real/. Accessed 28 June 2016. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Author's Last Name) (Naish) Note: Blog posts have no page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings so this information is left out of the in-text citation. |
Host's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Podcast Episode." Title of Overall Podcast, Episode Number if Given, Web Site Hosting If Different From Podcast Title, Day Month Year of Episode, URL of episode. Accessed Day Month Year podcast was downloaded/played.
| Works Cited List Example | Orton, Tyler, and Patrick Blennerhassett. "Lessons From the Brexit." BIV Podcast, Episode 18, Business Vancouver, 28 June 2016, www.biv.com/article/2016/6/biv-podcast-episode-18-lessons-brexit/. Accessed 2 July 2016. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Host's Last Name) (Orton and Blennerhassett) Note: Because podcasts do not have page numbers this information is left out of the in-text citation but a time stamp can be provided when discussing or quoting from a particular part of the podcast. |
Last Name, First Name [Twitter Handle]. "The entire tweet word-for-word." Twitter, Day Month Year of Tweet, Time of Tweet, URL.
| Works Cited List Example |
Athar, Sohaib [@ReallyVirtual]. "Helicopter hovering above Abbottad at 1AM is a rare event." Twitter, 4 Jan. 2013, 3:58 p.m. twitter.com/reallyvirtual/status/64780730286358528?lang=en. Accessed 6 Jan 2013.
Note: Write out the actual Tweet in the citation and keep spelling and grammar the same as in the original, even if there are errors. When quoting the Tweet, beside grammatical and spelling errors in the original Tweet, write [sic] in square brackets to indicate the errors are not your own. E.g., if the Tweet was "It isn't you're fault the media is violent", write: "It isn't you're [sic] fault the media is violent." |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Last Name) (Athar) |
Author Last Name, First Name or Account Name. "The post word-for-word or shorten with ellipsis if too long..." Facebook, Day Month Year of Post, Time of Post, URL. Accessed Day Month Year post was viewed.
| Works Cited List Example |
Rick Mercer Report. "Spread the Net Challenge Winners 2016..." Facebook, 23 Mar. 2016, 9:00 a.m., www.facebook.com/rickmercerreport. Accessed 26 June 2016.
Note: As Facebook posts can be lengthy, use ellipsis at the end of the shortened post. To find the time of a Facebook post, hover your mouse next to the date of the post over the clock icon. It may not be possible to link directly to the specific post itself. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Author's Last Name or Account Name) (Rick Mercer Report) |
Author Last Name, First Name or Account Name [Instagram Handle]. "The entire post word-for-word." Instagram, Day Month Year of Post, Time of Post, URL. Accessed Day Month Year post was viewed.
| Works Cited List Example | Liu, Alicia. “#metoo just another day of sexual harassment in the big city #sigh #toxicmasculinity." Instagram, 14 Aug. 2019, www.instagram.com/p/CH-T3452. Accessed 20 Aug. 2020. |
| In-text Citation Example | (Liu) |
Creator Last Name, First Name and/ or Account Name [Instagram Handle]. Description of the photograph. Instagram, Day Month Year of Post, Time of Post, URL. Accessed Day Month Year post was viewed.
| Works Cited List Example | Stoltz, Candy [@candycane34]. Photo of Black and White Kitten. Instagram, 12 Dec. 2020, www.instagram.com/p/Bq_PadddGh/. Accessed 3 Mar. 2023. |
| In-text Citation Example | (Stoltz) |
Rappaport, Jennifer. "Citing Material Posted on Social Media Platforms." MLA Style Center, 16 June 2021, style.mla.org/citing-social-media/. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.
“LibGuides: MLA Citation Guide (8th Edition): Social Media.” In-Text Citation - APA Citation Guide (6th Edition) - LibGuides at Columbia College (BC), 2018, columbiacollege-ca.libguides.com/mla/socialmedia.