APA:
The APA Manual does not include an official method for citing Tweets, Facebook status updates, or other social media postings. Follow the general APA guidelines and include:
- Author (real last name, initials, or group name) followed by [screen name in brackets].
- Date (Year, month, day, if available, otherwise Year. Use “n.d” if no date is available).
- Title (Use up to the first 40 words of a post as the title. For a post with no text, eg. a photo, include brief description in [square brackets], note form, eg. [Tweet], [Facebook status update] in [square brackets].
- Source (List a retrieval URL for the posting, eg.https://www.facebook.com/EWUWritersCenter).
Example:
Brown, J. [johnbrown] (1856, May 3). Having a great time in #BleedingKansas. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/johnbrown/status/xxxxxxxxxxx
For in-text citations cite (Author, date).
See also:
APA Style blog
MLA:
Follow the general MLA guidelines and include:
- Author’s real name if known, then (user name in parentheses).
- Title should include the complete tweet or Facebook status update
- Date
- Time
- Form of publication (Tweet).
Example:
Brown, John (johnbrown). “Having a great time in #BleedingKansas.” 3 May 1856, 4:15 p.m. Tweet.
For in-text citations cite (Author).
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