Posts on social media will often be cited only as notes, though if you intend to discuss the content in depth, you should also put a citation in the bibliography. Since it is easy – and common – for social media posts to vanish with little notice, it is advisable to take a screenshot or similar record of anything you intend to cite, so that future edits or deletions will not undermine your work. Please note that all of this applies only to public content on social media. Private content, such as a direct message or a post in a restricted-membership group should be cited as a personal communication.
Social media posts do not typically have titles, so if a title is not provided, simply use the text of the post, retaining all original capitalization, spelling, etc., set in roman with quotation marks. Do not include more than 160 characters in this section of the citation; if the post is longer than that, cut it off (with an ellipsis) at a sensible point before the 160-character mark is reached. Citation of a social media post should fit the following format:
N:
1. Firstname Lastname (Screen name), “Post text”, social media service, indication of format/medium, publication date, time stamp, URL
B:
Lastname, Firstname (Screen name). “Post text”. Social media service, indication of format/medium, publication date, time stamp. URL.
Ideally, a post should be cited by the author’s legal name and screen name / internet handle, but if there is no screen name available (e.g. on a Facebook post) or no legal name available (e.g. on a Twitter post), use whichever you do have. Also note that you needn’t include the format/medium if the post is only text, and you should only include the time stamp if it is relevant to your point or necessary to distinguish between multiple citations on the same day. Also, if you have quoted the full post in your main text, you can leave that out of your note citation.
N:
2. Bill Nye (@BillNye), “While I’m not much for skipping school, I sure am in favor of calling attention to the seriousness of climate change. Our students can see the problem…,” Twitter, March 14, 2019, https://twitter.com/BillNye/status/1106242216123486209.
B:
Nye, Bill (@BillNye). “While I’m not much for skipping school, I sure am in favor of calling attention to the seriousness of climate change. Our students can see the problem….” Twitter, March 14, 2019. https://twitter.com/BillNye/status/1106242216123486209.
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