To cite a tweet, now called a post on X, you need the author’s name, their handle, the date, the words of the post and its URL. The post has no title, so its own words stand in for one. APA uses the first 20 words, MLA uses the full text or a shortened version, and Chicago 17 uses up to the first 160 characters. The examples below use an invented account and post; swap in your own details.
Quick answer and templates
| Style | Reference format | In the text |
|---|---|---|
| APA 7 | Author, A. A. [@handle]. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of the post [Post]. X. URL | (Author, Year) |
| MLA 9 | Author Last, First [@handle]. “Text of the post.” X, Day Month Year, URL. | (Author Last) |
| Chicago 17 (note) | First Last (@handle), “Up to the first 160 characters of the post,” X, Month Day, Year, URL. | Describe the post in your sentence, or use a numbered footnote |
What you need before you start
- Author. The real name of the person, or the name of the organization, as shown on the account.
- Handle. The name that starts with @.
- Date of the post. Click the post to open it and see the full date and time.
- Text of the post, copied exactly, with its spelling and capital letters.
- Anything attached: an image, a video, a link preview or a poll.
- URL of the post itself, not of the account. Open the post and copy the address from your browser.
How to cite a tweet in APA 7
APA gives the author’s name in the usual format, followed by the handle in square brackets. The first 20 words of the post are the title, in italics. Then comes the description [Post], the site name X and the URL. Keep hashtags and links that fall inside the first 20 words.
A post by a person
Rivera, J. [@jrivera_example]. (2024, March 5). Our new study on sleep and exam results is out today. Students who slept seven hours or more scored higher [Post]. X. https://x.com/jrivera_example/status/0000000000000000000
A post by an organization, with an image
Write the organization’s name in full. If the post has an image, a video or a link preview, describe it in square brackets before [Post].
Example Science Museum [@examplemuseum]. (2024, June 2). The new volcano gallery opens on Saturday. Entry is free for students all summer [Image attached] [Post]. X. https://x.com/examplemuseum/status/0000000000000000000
In-text citation
- Parenthetical: (Rivera, 2024)
- Narrative: Rivera (2024) announced that…
- Organization: (Example Science Museum, 2024)
If you only know the handle and not a real name, use the handle as the author, with the @ sign and without brackets. If the post includes an emoji, copy it if you can. If you cannot, describe it in square brackets, for example [face with tears of joy emoji].
The APA Style page of X reference examples is the source to check if your instructor asks for one. To format other sources, use our APA citation generator.
How to cite a tweet in MLA 9
MLA lists the author by name. You may add the handle in square brackets after the name, which helps when the two are very different. The text of the post is the title, in quotation marks. The site, X, is in italics as the container. Then come the date and the URL without https://.
A short post
Rivera, Jordan [@jrivera_example]. “Our new study on sleep and exam results is out today.” X, 5 Mar. 2024, x.com/jrivera_example/status/0000000000000000000.
A long post
Give the opening words and end with an ellipsis.
Rivera, Jordan [@jrivera_example]. “Our new study on sleep and exam results is out today. Students who slept . . .” X, 5 Mar. 2024, x.com/jrivera_example/status/0000000000000000000.
A post with only a photo or video
Write a short description in place of the title, with no quotation marks.
Example Science Museum [@examplemuseum]. Photo of the new volcano gallery. X, 2 June 2024, x.com/examplemuseum/status/0000000000000000000.
In-text citation
Use whatever starts the Works Cited entry, which is normally the author’s last name.
- (Rivera)
- (Example Science Museum)
The MLA Style Center has answers on citing a social media post and on the change of name from Twitter to X. For other source types, use the MLA citation generator.
How to cite a tweet in Chicago 17
Chicago says a social media post can usually be cited in the text alone. Name the author, the platform and the date in your sentence:
In a post on X on March 5, 2024, Jordan Rivera (@jrivera_example) announced that the sleep study was out.
Add a footnote when you need a formal citation. Give the author’s name, the handle in parentheses, up to the first 160 characters of the post in quotation marks, the platform, the date and the URL. You can add the time of the post after the date if you cite several posts from the same day.
Footnote
1. Jordan Rivera (@jrivera_example), “Our new study on sleep and exam results is out today. Students who slept seven hours or more scored higher,” X, March 5, 2024, https://x.com/jrivera_example/status/0000000000000000000.
Shortened note (later citations)
2. Rivera, “Our new study.”
Bibliography entry
Chicago rarely needs a bibliography entry for a single post. If your instructor wants one, or the post is central to your paper, use this form:
Rivera, Jordan (@jrivera_example). “Our new study on sleep and exam results is out today. Students who slept seven hours or more scored higher.” X, March 5, 2024. https://x.com/jrivera_example/status/0000000000000000000.
The 18th edition, published in 2024, keeps the same pattern and lets you quote up to the first 280 characters. Check which edition your course follows. The Chicago citation quick guide has a section on social media content.
Twitter or X?
The platform changed its name from Twitter to X in 2023, and the style guides have been catching up.
- APA. The APA Style website now uses [Post] and X. The printed seventh edition manual came out before the change, so it shows [Tweet] and Twitter.
- MLA. The MLA Style Center recommends X as the container for every post on the platform, old or new. It also suggests writing “post” and not “tweet” in your own sentences.
- Chicago. The examples in Chicago 17 say Twitter, because that was the name at the time. For a post made after the name change, X is the clear choice.
Use the URL exactly as your browser shows it. Some links still start with twitter.com and some start with x.com. Both are fine. If your instructor or your course guide uses the older wording, follow that.
Images, emojis, threads and reposts
Emojis and hashtags
APA keeps emojis and hashtags as part of the post’s text. MLA says emojis do not need to go in the title. If an emoji matters to your point, explain it in your own sentence. If the post is nothing but an emoji, MLA uses a description, such as Microphone emoji, as the title.
A thread
If you used one post from a thread, cite that post with its own URL. If you are citing the whole conversation in MLA, the MLA Style Center advises citing the first post, with its date and URL, and adding “et al.” after the first author to show that other people took part.
A repost or a reply
Cite the original post where you can, with the original author and the original URL. A reply has its own URL and its own author, so cite it as a post in its own right.
A post that may be deleted
Posts can be edited or removed. Take a screenshot that shows the date when you first find a post you plan to use. Keep it with your notes in case you are asked to show the source.
Generate the citation automatically
The free Plagiarism Checker Plus citation generator formats references in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE, AMA and ACS.
- Collect the details listed at the top of this page.
- Choose your style and type the details in.
- Check the result against the templates on this page, then copy it into your reference list.
Always read a generated citation before you use it. Social media posts have unusual parts, such as handles and attached images, and a quick check catches most problems.