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APA Citation Guide (7th edition)

Guidance for formatting papers and citations in using the "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association" (APA).

Basic Format of Social Media

Twitter and Instagram (and Similar)

Author Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. [@username] (Year, Month Day). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Descrioption of audiovisuals]. Site Name. URL

Facebook and others

Author Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. [Username] (Year, Month Day). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Descrioption of audiovisuals]. Site Name. URL

Examples of Social Media

Example of a Tweet

CDC [@CDCgov]. (2020, June 11). Scientists do not know if having antibodies to the virus that causes #COVID19    can protect someone from getting infected again [Image attached] [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/CDCgov/status/1271180413134876672

Example of an Instagram post

Philadelphia Museum of Art [@philamuseum]. (2019, December 3). It’s always wonderful to walk in and see my work in a collection where it’s loved, and where people are [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/B5oDnnNhOt4/

Example of TikTok video

Washington Post [@washingtonpost]. (2019, December 3). News is all around us #frozen #newsroom #newspaper [Video]. TikTok. https://vm.tiktok.com/x2sKUu

Example of a Facebook post

Netflix. (2023, December 6). Love lost is love found. Good Grief -- written, directed by, and starring Dan Levy -- premieres January 5. [Images attached] [Status update]. Facebook.https://fb.watch/oMCpKtQN41/

For More Information

More information about citing Social Media posts can be found at APA Style Guide -- Online Media in the table (in column 1), and examples in Section 10.15 of the book.