MLA 9 social media citation format
Author [@handle]. “First few words of post or description of media.” Platform, Day Month Year, URL.
Twitter / X example
Obama, Barack [@BarackObama]. “Congratulations to all the DACA recipients who are getting a shot at their American dream.” Twitter, 18 Sept. 2017, twitter.com/BarackObama/status/909542155868606464.
Instagram example
National Geographic [@natgeo]. “A lone polar bear searches for food on the rapidly melting Arctic sea ice.” Instagram, 4 Dec. 2019, www.instagram.com/p/B5pFzjEHdXf/.
Key rules
- Author — use real name followed by @handle in brackets, if both are known
- Post text — include the first sentence or description in quotation marks (truncate long posts with “…”)
- Platform — italicised (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Reddit)
- Date — Day Month Year of the post
- URL — direct link to the specific post
In-text citation
(Obama) or (@BarackObama)
Use whichever form you used in the Works Cited entry. If you used the real name, cite by last name.