Social media posts are primary sources. A politician's tweet, a scholar's Instagram story, a viral Reddit thread — these are the raw materials of cultural analysis, political science, media studies, and digital humanities research. MLA 9th edition treats social media as a legitimate source type with its own formatting conventions.
The challenge with social media citations is that they break almost every convention of traditional publishing: authors go by usernames, titles are sometimes just the full text of the post, and publication dates are measured in hours. This guide shows you how to handle each platform using MLA's container system.
The General Principle
MLA's container system applies to social media just like any other source. The post is the work; the platform is the container. Here's the general template:
Author. "Full text of post or description." Platform Name, Day Month Year, URL.
A few social-media-specific conventions:
- Author: Use the person's real name when known, followed by their username or handle in square brackets. If only a username is available, use that as the author.
- Title: Use the full text of the post as the title, in quotation marks. If the post is longer than a couple of sentences, truncate and add an ellipsis.
- Container: The platform name (Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, etc.) is italicized.
- Date: Use the date the post was published, in day-month-year format.
- URL: Include the permanent link to the specific post.
Twitter / X
Twitter (now X) posts are the most commonly cited social media source in academic writing.
Post by a Known Individual
Works Cited:
Gay, Roxane [@rgay]. "Writing, I think, is an act of hope. You play for an audience that doesn't yet exist." Twitter, 5 Oct. 2024, https://twitter.com/rgay/status/123456789.
In-text citation:
(Gay)
What to notice:
- Real name first (Gay, Roxane), followed by the handle in brackets ([@rgay])
- The full text of the tweet is the title, in quotation marks
- Twitter is italicized as the container
- The URL links to the specific tweet
Post by an Organization
Works Cited:
Library of Congress [@librarycongress]. "Today we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Poetry Room. Explore our collection of 30,000+ recordings." Twitter, 18 Mar. 2025, https://twitter.com/librarycongress/status/987654321.
In-text citation:
(Library of Congress)
Use the organization's full name as the author, even if the handle is an abbreviation.
Truncating Long Posts
If a post is too long to use as the full title, include the first sentence or a meaningful portion and end with an ellipsis:
Works Cited:
Coates, Ta-Nehisi [@tanehisicoates]. "I've been thinking about the relationship between memory and justice, about what it means to remember what a nation would rather forget…" Twitter, 22 June 2024, https://twitter.com/tanehisicoates/status/111222333.
Replying to Another Post
If you're citing a reply rather than an original post, you can note this in the entry:
Works Cited:
Smith, Zadie [@ZadieSmith]. Reply to @rgay. "This is exactly right — and it's why revision feels like an act of courage." Twitter, 5 Oct. 2024, https://twitter.com/ZadieSmith/status/444555666.
Instagram posts are cited similarly to tweets, with the caption as the title.
Photo Post
Works Cited:
Rupi Kaur [@rupikaur_]. "she was music / but he had his ears cut off." Instagram, 12 Nov. 2024, https://www.instagram.com/p/abc123.
In-text citation:
(Kaur)
Post With a Long Caption
If the caption is lengthy, use a descriptive title or truncate:
Works Cited:
Obama, Michelle [@michelleobama]. "Education is the single most important civil rights issue of our time…" Instagram, 4 Sept. 2024, https://www.instagram.com/p/xyz789.
In-text citation:
(Obama)
Post With No Caption (Photo Only)
If the post has no text, describe the content:
Works Cited:
National Geographic [@natgeo]. Photograph of the northern lights over Iceland. Instagram, 3 Jan. 2025, https://www.instagram.com/p/def456.
In-text citation:
(National Geographic)
The description is not in quotation marks because it's not a title from the source — it's your own description of the content.
Facebook posts follow the same pattern:
Individual Post
Works Cited:
Díaz, Junot. "I'm old enough to remember when a library was the most radical building in a town — a place where anyone, regardless of income, could access the entire history of human thought." Facebook, 15 Aug. 2024, https://www.facebook.com/junotdiaz/posts/123456.
In-text citation:
(Díaz)
Page or Organization Post
Works Cited:
American Library Association. "Banned Books Week is September 22–28, 2024. Join us in celebrating the freedom to read." Facebook, 20 Sept. 2024, https://www.facebook.com/AmericanLibraryAssociation/posts/789012.
In-text citation:
(American Library Association)
Reddit posts and comments have their own conventions because of the platform's pseudonymous culture.
Post (Thread Starter)
Works Cited:
u/linguisticsgrad. "Why does MLA use author-page instead of author-date like APA?" Reddit, 8 Feb. 2025, https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAcademia/comments/abc123.
In-text citation:
(u/linguisticsgrad)
Since Reddit users typically don't share their real names, use the username (with the u/ prefix) as the author.
Comment
Works Cited:
u/prof_rhetoric. Comment on "Why does MLA use author-page instead of author-date like APA?" Reddit, 8 Feb. 2025, https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAcademia/comments/abc123/comment/def456.
In-text citation:
(u/prof_rhetoric)
Subreddit as Context
If the subreddit is important context (e.g., you're analyzing the community itself), you can note it:
Works Cited:
u/linguisticsgrad. "Why does MLA use author-page instead of author-date like APA?" Reddit, r/AskAcademia, 8 Feb. 2025, https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAcademia/comments/abc123.
TikTok
TikTok videos are cited with the creator as the author and TikTok as the container. Since TikTok videos often don't have traditional titles, describe the content or use the caption:
Video With a Caption
Works Cited:
Ibarra, Sofia [@readingwithsofia]. "Three books that will change how you think about time." TikTok, 22 Jan. 2025, https://www.tiktok.com/@readingwithsofia/video/123456789.
In-text citation:
(Ibarra)
Video With No Caption
Works Cited:
Chen, David [@bookishdavid]. Video reviewing The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. TikTok, 10 Mar. 2025, https://www.tiktok.com/@bookishdavid/video/987654321.
In-text citation:
(Chen)
Again, a description (not in quotation marks) replaces the title when the post has no caption text.
LinkedIn posts are formatted like other social media posts:
Works Cited:
Waters, Angela. "After twenty years in publishing, here's what I wish someone had told me about the editorial process." LinkedIn, 5 Dec. 2024, https://www.linkedin.com/posts/angelawaters_publishing-editorial-activity-123456789.
In-text citation:
(Waters)
Handling Usernames, Display Names, and Real Names
MLA's preference is to use the author's real name as the primary identifier, with the username or handle in square brackets:
Gay, Roxane [@rgay].
If the person's real name is not publicly associated with the account, use the username alone:
u/linguisticsgrad.
@readingwithsofia.
If the display name is different from both the real name and the handle (common on platforms like TikTok), use whichever name is most identifiable. When in doubt, use the real name if you can confirm it.
Quick Reference
| Scenario | Author Element |
|---|---|
| Real name + handle known | Gay, Roxane [@rgay]. |
| Only username known | u/linguisticsgrad. |
| Organization + handle | Library of Congress [@librarycongress]. |
| Display name differs from handle | Use the most identifiable name |
Emojis and Hashtags in Titles
Social media posts often contain emojis and hashtags. MLA's approach:
- Emojis: Include them as they appear in the original text. If you can't reproduce the emoji, describe it in square brackets: [fire emoji]
- Hashtags: Include them as they appear: #BannedBooksWeek, #MLA, #BookTok
Works Cited:
Ibarra, Sofia [@readingwithsofia]. "Three books that will change how you think about time 📚🕰️ #BookTok #reading." TikTok, 22 Jan. 2025, https://www.tiktok.com/@readingwithsofia/video/123456789.
If reproducing emojis isn't practical (e.g., in a print paper), describe them:
Ibarra, Sofia [@readingwithsofia]. "Three books that will change how you think about time [book emoji] [clock emoji] #BookTok #reading." TikTok, 22 Jan. 2025, https://www.tiktok.com/@readingwithsofia/video/123456789.
In-Text Citation Quick Reference
| Platform | Works Cited Author | In-Text Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Twitter (individual) | Gay, Roxane [@rgay]. | (Gay) |
| Twitter (organization) | Library of Congress [@librarycongress]. | (Library of Congress) |
| Kaur, Rupi [@rupikaur_]. | (Kaur) | |
| Díaz, Junot. | (Díaz) | |
| u/linguisticsgrad. | (u/linguisticsgrad) | |
| TikTok | Ibarra, Sofia [@readingwithsofia]. | (Ibarra) |
| Waters, Angela. | (Waters) |
Common Mistakes
- Using the handle as the author when the real name is known. MLA prefers the real name first, with the handle in brackets. Don't cite "@rgay" when you can cite "Gay, Roxane [@rgay]."
- Forgetting the platform name. The platform (Twitter, Instagram, etc.) is the container — it should be italicized and included in every entry.
- Using a general URL instead of the permalink. Always link to the specific post, not to the user's profile page.
- Omitting the date. Social media posts always have a publication date — include it.
- Putting quotation marks around a description. If you're describing a post's content (because it has no text), don't use quotation marks — quotation marks indicate the source's actual words.
- Citing deleted posts. If a post has been deleted, note it: you should still cite it if you referenced it in your paper, but acknowledge that it's no longer accessible. You might add "post since deleted" after the URL.
What's Next
Now that you know how to cite social media, explore related guides:
- How to Cite a Video in MLA Format — for YouTube, films, and streaming content
- How to Cite a Website in MLA Format — for web pages and online articles
- MLA Works Cited Page — the complete guide to the container system
If you're using Archivero to manage your research, you can save social media links directly to your library — Archivero will extract the author, handle, post text, and date to generate the Works Cited entry automatically.
