Do I write Twitter or X in the works-cited entry?

Write X. The MLA Style Center note of 20 March 2024 says to use X as the container for posts published before and after the 2023 name change. Copy the URL exactly; many permalinks still begin with twitter.com, and some now begin with x.com.

Do I put only the first 20 words of a tweet in the entry?

No. That 20-word italic title is APA 7 §10.15, not MLA 9. MLA uses the post text as the title of source, in quotation marks, or shortens a long caption with an ellipsis. See How to Cite Social Media in APA if your sheet is APA.

When do I include the @handle?

When the handle is not obviously the same as the account name, or when you are omitting the URL. Handbook §5.16: Fogarty keeps [@GrammarGirl]; Alicia Keys drops @aliciakeys if the TikTok URL is present.

How do I cite an Instagram Story?

Describe the image or video, give the date, name Instagram, and add the story URL. Stories vanish after twenty-four hours unless they are saved as a highlight; the Style Center still lets you cite the unsaved Story. If it was saved, cite the highlight instead, as in the Guggenheim “People” example.

How do I cite a deleted tweet or a private account?

If a public archive has the post, cite the archive. If you saw it and it is gone, Handbook §5.111 allows an access date on a line that already identifies the work. A DM or locked post that was never public should be treated as a personal communication, not as a social-media works-cited entry.

How do I cite a Reddit comment?

Name the commenter, write a description that begins Comment on . . . , italicize Reddit, date the comment, and use the comment permalink. The Style Center’s Varro-reatinus line is the model. Do not invent a u/ prefix if the page shows a different username form.

Do I have to include the time of day?

Only when the time helps someone find the post. §5.80 is a locating rule, not a required slot. Official Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok examples usually stop at the calendar date.

Should I include emojis in the title?

The Style Center’s emoji note — written against the eighth edition — says you do not have to put the emoji in the title. Describe it in your prose if the meaning depends on it. If the post is only an emoji, use a description such as Microphone emoji. Ninth edition does not replace that advice with a 20-word italic title.

Is a YouTube video cited like a TikTok?

No. TikTok is a social post whose caption or description is the title of source. A YouTube video has its own title and uploader pattern. Use How to Cite YouTube Videos in MLA for the video. A YouTube Community post follows the social template on this page.

How do I cite Threads or Bluesky in MLA?

The Style Center has not published a sample. Apply the same template: account name, §5.16 handle test, post text or a description, italicized Threads or Bluesky, the post date, and the permalink. Do not invent a fake post to fill the line.

How to Cite Social Media in MLA 9 (X, Instagram, TikTok) [2026]

Start with the name on the account. Add the @handle in square brackets only when that handle is not basically the same as the name — MLA Handbook §5.16. Use the post’s own wording as the title of source, in quotation marks. If the post is only an image or video, write a short description instead and do not put that description in quotation marks. Italicize the platform. Give the day-month-year of that post, or the page’s copyright year when the platform hides a precise date. End with the permalink copied exactly, even if the host is still twitter.com after the rebrand to X. In the text, point to whatever you put first in the works-cited entry.

MLA 9 social-media templates

Works Cited, name plus a different handle:

Last Name, First Name [@handle]. “Text of the post.” X, Day Mon. Year, permalink.

Works Cited, similar handle and a URL:

Last Name, First Name. “Text of the post.” Instagram, Day Mon. Year, permalink.

Works Cited, image or video only:

Author. Title of the image or video. TikTok, Day Mon. Year, permalink.

Works Cited, a changing profile:

Last Name, First Name. “Posts.” Instagram, Year, profile URL.

Works Cited, mobile post with no URL:

Last Name, First Name [@handle]. “Text of the post.” X, Day Mon. Year.

In-text, parentheses:

(Last Name) or (Account Name) — match the first element

In-text, prose:

Last Name writes that . . .

These rows are slot patterns, not citations. Every full example below is an official MLA Handbook or Style Center string, or a clearly labelled template. MLA does not use APA’s “first 20 words, in italics” title. Quotation marks, not italics, mark the post text.

Official MLA Handbook §5.1 and Style Center wording

To use the template, record the publication information given by the version of the work you consult by first evaluating the work you are citing to see which elements apply to the source. Then, list each element relevant to your source in the order given on the template. Omit any element that does not apply except Title of Source. If no title is given, use your own description of the work as the title. Conclude each element with the punctuation mark shown in the template—but always end your entry with a period.

To cite material posted on a social media platform, follow the MLA format template. List the author of the post, usually the account name, followed by the title of the material or a description in place of a title in the Title of Source element. Then list the title of the social media site in the Title of Container element. Next list the publisher, unless the name of the site’s publisher is essentially the same as the website title. Then provide the date of publication of the post—if given—or the copyright date of the page. Finally, list the URL in the Location element. As always, key your in-text reference to the first element of the entry. The in-text reference may appear in prose or parentheses.

The first sentence is MLA Handbook §5.1. The second is the Style Center overview (Jennifer Rappaport). That overview also covers LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, and Snapchat. The X name-change note (20 March 2024) is the current container rule: write X, not Twitter, for posts published before or after the 2023 rebrand. Older Style Center examples still print Twitter; keep those strings when you are quoting the page, and write X in your own entries. Copy the URL as the site gives it. At the time MLA published the note, that host was still twitter.com. If your permalink now starts with x.com, copy x.com.

What This Guide Covers (and What It Does Not)

This is an MLA 9 source-type guide for platform-native posts, comments, stories, highlights, and profiles. An earlier version of this page invented January 2026 NASA, Obama, WHO, National Geographic, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Reddit citations with placeholder status IDs. Those strings stay gone. It also imported APA’s “first 20 words” cap, which is not an MLA rule.

Use this page for X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, and — with labelled templates only — Threads and Bluesky in MLA 9.
Use How to Cite YouTube Videos in MLA for a YouTube video. A YouTube Community post is closer to the social template on this page.
Use How to Cite Websites in MLA when a share, pin, or post is only how you found a page. Cite the page.
Use How to Cite a Podcast in MLA for a podcast episode hosted on a feed, not a 30-second clip inside an app.
Use How to Cite Personal Communications for DMs and friends-only posts a reader cannot open.
Use How to Cite Social Media in APA or Chicago when the syllabus names those styles.
Use Citing Social Media: Complete Guide only when you need APA, MLA, and Chicago on one page.

MLA does not have one “social media” citation. It has a recoverable post, a changing profile or highlight, a post you saw only in an app, and ordinary webpages that happen to have been shared. Pick the row that matches what you actually opened.

Which MLA 9 form the social item actually uses
What you opened	Title of source	Date	Location
A public X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or Reddit post	The post text in quotation marks, or a description if there is no text	Day, month, and year of that post	The permalink
A public profile, Facebook Photos tab, or Instagram highlight	The tab or highlight name in quotation marks (Posts, Videos, People)	The copyright year on the page, or an access date	The profile or highlight URL
An unsaved Instagram Story	A description of the image or video	The day it appeared	The story URL, even though the story will vanish
A DM, friends-only post, or deleted post with no archive	Do not force a works-cited line the reader cannot open	Name the date in your prose	Cite as a personal communication, or quote from a public archive if one exists
A news story or journal article you found because someone shared it	The original work’s title	The original work’s date	The DOI or URL of that work, not the share

Write X, Not Twitter, as the Container

The platform formerly called Twitter is X. The Style Center’s 20 March 2024 note is explicit: because old posts now live on X, the container is X for every post on that site, including 2018 examples your instructor still calls tweets. Copy the URL as the site gives it. In your own prose, call the item a post.

MLA Style Center on the X rebrand (20 March 2024)

Because posts published formerly on Twitter now exist on X, we recommend using X as the title of container for any posts published on the platform, past and present.

With the name change came other changes as well: what used to be called tweets are now called posts. To be up-to-date, avoid referring to “tweets” and the corresponding verb form (“so-and-so tweeted”) in your prose.

Works Cited, post published after the rebrand:

O’Connor, Kim. “Kelly Link on ‘nighttime logic.’” X, 13 Feb. 2024, twitter.com/shallowbrigade/status/1757476492647219227.

Works Cited, 2022 post now living on X:

Klein, Ezra. “My phone keeps autocorrecting ‘I’ to ‘AI’ which is a little on-the-nose.” X, 22 Apr. 2022, twitter.com/ezraklein/status/1517591690101489665.

Official Style Center in-text for the Klein line:

In a wry post, Ezra Klein wrote that his phone was “autocorrecting ‘I’ to ‘AI’ which is a little on-the-nose” (Klein).

Author and Handle: MLA Handbook §5.16

Use the name on the account, not a display nickname you guessed. §5.16 is the handle test. A handle that is not obviously the same name goes in square brackets after the name. A handle that is basically the name (@angiethomas next to Angie Thomas) can be dropped when the URL is in the entry. If you omit the URL — mobile app, or the §5.84 option to skip URLs — keep the handle so a reader can still search. Ninth edition reversed the eighth-edition order: do not start with @GrammarGirl (Mignon Fogarty).

Official §5.16 wording

If an author’s online handle differs from the author’s account name (fig. 5.13), it may be helpful to supply the handle in square brackets after the name.

When the handle and account name are similar (e.g., Angie Thomas, @angiethomas), you can usually omit the handle if you include the URL in your entry.

If you do not include the URL—for instance, if you access the post from a mobile device or you follow the option presented in 5.84 to omit URLs— retain the handle since it is a useful finding aid.

Official §5.16 and Style Center handle examples

Handle differs from the account name (Handbook §5.16 / fig. 5.13):

Fogarty, Mignon [@GrammarGirl]. “Every once in a while, that Gmail notice asking if you meant to reply to a 5-day-old message is quite helpful.” Twitter, 13 Feb. 2019, twitter.com/GrammarGirl/status/1095734401550303232.

Similar handle omitted because the URL is present (Handbook §5.16 Thomas):

Thomas, Angie. Photo of The Hate U Give cover. Instagram, 4 Dec. 2018, www.instagram.com/p/Bq_PaXKgqPw/.

Similar handle omitted because the URL is present (Style Center TikTok profile):

Keys, Alicia. “Videos.” TikTok, 2020, www.tiktok.com/@aliciakeys?lang=en.

No URL, so the handle stays (Handbook §5.16):

Nguyen, Viet Thanh [@viet_t_nguyen]. “I could put on my headphones at the Chinese restaurant or I could listen to @barrymanilow sing ‘Mandy.’ I choose Mandy.” Twitter, 19 Feb. 2019.

Those lines keep Twitter where the 2021 handbook printed it. In a paper you submit now, change the container to X and leave the rest of the line alone, following the 2024 note. The handbook’s Thomas line and the Style Center Instagram photograph of the same post use different descriptions; both are official. Use the description that matches what you are discussing.

Title of Source: Full Text, Ellipsis, or a Description

§5.1 says you may omit any core element except the title of source. A social post rarely has a formal title, so the post text is the title, in quotation marks, transcribed as the account wrote it — misspellings, hashtags, and @mentions included. If the post is long, the Style Center shortens it with a spaced ellipsis at the end. If there is no text, write a description (Photo of . . ., Video of . . .). Handbook fig. 5.15 is exactly that case: a post that is a photograph of a letter.

Official Handbook §5.23 / fig. 5.15 wording

When a digital message or social media post consists entirely of a photograph or a video, provide a description for a title (see fig. 5.15).

You may also choose to provide a description in place of text from the post itself when your discussion focuses on a nontextual part of the post such as a photograph or a video.

Official Style Center and Handbook title-of-source examples

Use the post text (Handbook / Style Center):

Chaucer Doth Tweet [@LeVostreGC]. “A daye wythout anachronism ys lyke Emily Dickinson wythout her lightsaber.” Twitter, 7 Apr. 2018, twitter.com/LeVostreGC/status/982829987286827009.

Shorten a long post with an ellipsis:

Smith, Clint. “Today is Frederick Douglass’ 200th birthday . . . .” Twitter, 14 Feb. 2018, twitter.com/ClintSmithIII/status/963810866964639745.

No text: describe the image (Handbook fig. 5.15 / Style Center):

Ng, Celeste [@pronounced_ing]. Photo of letter from Shirley Jackson. Twitter, 22 Jan. 2018, twitter.com/pronounced_ing/status/955528799357231104.

Describe the image even when the pin has other text (Handbook / Style Center):

MacLeod, Michael. Cover of Space Cat and the Kittens, by Ruthven Todd. Pinterest, 2020, www.pinterest.com/pin/565412928193207246/.

How to Cite an X Post in MLA

The Twitter / X Style Center page (11 August 2021) still shows the Fogarty and Ng lines with the container Twitter. Use those strings as models. For a paper dated after March 2024, swap in X as in the Klein and O’Connor lines above. Cite the original post, not a reshare that adds no words of its own. A quote-post that adds your source’s commentary is a new post if that added text is what you are using.

Official Style Center X / Twitter in-text plus works-cited pairs

Prose, then the Fogarty entry:

As one writer remarked, “Every once in a while, that Gmail notice asking if you meant to reply to a 5-day-old message is quite helpful” (Fogarty).

Prose, then the Ng photograph entry:

Celeste Ng posted a photo of a letter from Shirley Jackson in which Jackson wrote, “If you don’t like my peaches, don’t shake my tree” (Ng).

Ng, Celeste [@pronounced_ing]. Photo of letter from Shirley Jackson. Twitter, 22 Jan. 2018, twitter.com/pronounced_ing/status/955528799357231104.

A thread is not automatically one source

If you quote one post from a thread, cite that post. The Style Center’s older thread note — flagged as eighth-edition advice — treated a whole conversation as a collaborative work keyed to the first post. Ninth edition does not reprint that author string (@handle (Given Family) et al.). Unless you are analyzing the conversation as a single object, prefer one §5.16 entry for the post you actually quote.

How to Cite a Facebook Post in MLA

The Facebook Style Center page (23 June 2021) uses one organization, the World Wildlife Fund, for a status update, a photo, a video, and a Photos tab. Copy the permalink from the time stamp, not from the page header. Facebook usernames that match the organization name are omitted.

Official Style Center Facebook examples

To access the URL of a Facebook post, click the time stamp near the top of the post and then copy the URL of the page.

Official in-text, then the post:

On Facebook the World Wildlife Fund announced the birth of twenty-three endangered glossy black cockatoo chicks.

Post:

World Wildlife Fund. “Inspiring conservation news: 23 endangered glossy black cockatoo chicks hatched on Kangaroo Island, an area previously ravaged by Australia’s devastating bushfires.” Facebook, 8 July 2020, www.facebook.com/worldwildlifefund/posts/10157806449919794.

Photo:

World Wildlife Fund. “Happy Earth Day from all of us at WWF!” Facebook, 22 Apr. 2019, www.facebook.com/worldwildlifefund/photos/a.58993914793/10156574728914794.

Video:

World Wildlife Fund. “Five Things to Know on Shark Awareness Day.” Facebook, 14 July 2020, www.facebook.com/worldwildlifefund/videos/745925785979440/.

Photos tab / page:

World Wildlife Fund. “Photos.” Facebook, 2020, www.facebook.com/worldwildlifefund/photos/.

How to Cite Instagram in MLA

The Instagram Style Center page (30 June 2021) is the worked set for a captioned post, a photo without usable text, a video, a profile, a highlight, and a 24-hour Story. Chabon’s caption is long; MLA keeps the wording and the hashtags rather than cutting to twenty words. Hamilton Videos keeps [@hamilton.vods] because that handle does not resemble the account name. The Style Center’s Thomas line describes the burned book; the handbook’s §5.16 line for the same URL describes the cover. Both are official.

Official Style Center Instagram examples

Official in-text for the captioned post:

Michael Chabon paid tribute to Milton Glaser by posting one of the designer’s iconic images on Instagram.

Post with caption:

Chabon, Michael. “#rip Milton Glaser. I grew up in his work. So hard to pick a favorite, maybe this, which also features one of the many awesome typefaces he designed, Baby Teeth. #mahaliajackson #miltonglaser.” Instagram, 28 June 2020, www.instagram.com/p/CB-E9gngVwo/.

Photograph (Style Center description):

Thomas, Angie. Photo of burned copy of The Hate U Give. Instagram, 4 Dec. 2018, www.instagram.com/p/Bq_PaXKgqPw/.

Official in-text, then the video:

In Hamilton, when the colonists rebel against England, King George expresses his feelings in a humorous solo. “Remember we made an arrangement when you went away. Now you’re making me mad,” he sings (Hamilton Videos).

Hamilton Videos [@hamilton.vods]. Video of King George in Hamilton. Instagram, 5 July 2020, www.instagram.com/p/CCPEUJLDz0l/.

Profile:

Gay, Roxane. “Posts.” Instagram, 2020, www.instagram.com/roxanegay74/.

Highlight:

Guggenheim Museum. “People.” Instagram, 2020, www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17850044881917911/.

Unsaved Story:

The Museum of Modern Art. Image of Fernand Léger’s The Three Musicians. Instagram, 14 July 2020, www.instagram.com/stories/themuseumofmodernart/2353246125954046321.

MLA Style Center on disappearing Stories

Note that Instagram stories disappear after twenty-four hours unless the creator saves them as a highlight. You can still cite unsaved stories by providing a description of the image or video, the date it was posted, and the URL of the story.

How to Cite TikTok in MLA

The TikTok Style Center page (4 August 2021) gives one video and one profile. The video keeps the lowercase, the hashtag, and the bracketed letter the creator wrote. The profile uses the tab name Videos and a copyright year, and it drops @aliciakeys because the handle matches the name and the URL is present.

Official Style Center TikTok examples

Official in-text, then the video:

An example of the Dark Academic aesthetic can be found on TikTok (Lilly).

Video:

Lilly [@uvisaa]. “[I]f u like dark academia there’s a good chance you’ve seen my tumblr #darkacademia.” TikTok, 2020, www.tiktok.com/@uvisaa/video/6815708894900391173.

Profile:

Keys, Alicia. “Videos.” TikTok, 2020, www.tiktok.com/@aliciakeys?lang=en.

How to Cite Reddit in MLA

The Reddit Style Center page (21 July 2021) is the official pair: one forum post and one comment, both about Adam Hochschild’s King Leopold’s Ghost. Reddit’s own headline is the book title, so MLA writes a description that includes that title instead of quoting the headline as if the reviewer had named the post. The comment begins Comment on . . . The Style Center capitalizes the post author’s U/.

Official Style Center Reddit examples

Note that the Reddit post, which reviews the book King Leopold’s Ghost, provides the book title as the title of the post, so the title of the Reddit post is a description that includes the book title: Review of King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa, by Adam Hochschild.

Official in-text for the forum post:

A recent review on Reddit notes that Adam Hochschild’s King Leopold’s Ghost “brings heartbreaking humanity to this genocidal tragedy by telling stories of individuals” (U/reggiew07).

Forum post:

U/reggiew07. Review of King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa, by Adam Hochschild. Reddit, 31 Oct. 2020, www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/jlbrs4/king_leopolds_ghost_a_story_of_greed_terror_and/.

Forum comment:

Varro-reatinus. Comment on U/reggiew07’s review of King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa, by Adam Hochschild. Reddit, 31 Oct. 2020, www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/jlbrs4/king_leopolds_ghost_a_story_of_greed_terror_and/.

LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Snapchat

The social-media overview is also the official page for these three. LinkedIn often shows “posted one week ago” instead of a calendar date: if you cannot recover the day, MLA uses the page’s copyright year and may shorten the text with an ellipsis. A Pinterest pin that is only an image takes a description. A Snapchat photo has no unique URL, so the Style Center uses the public add-account URL and an access date. Handbook §5.23 adds a second Snapchat model with a calendar date and no access date.

Official Style Center and Handbook LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Snapchat examples

LinkedIn, year only, text shortened:

Modern Language Association. “Business leaders say college graduates are not effectively prepared with either soft or technical skills for today’s workforce . . . .” LinkedIn, 2020, www.linkedin.com/posts/modern-language-association_are-colleges-finally-going-to-start-training-activity-6683424396222193664-y29x.

Pinterest image:

MacLeod, Michael. Cover of Space Cat and the Kittens, by Ruthven Todd. Pinterest, 2020, www.pinterest.com/pin/565412928193207246/.

Snapchat, account URL plus access date (Style Center):

Obama, Michelle. Photo with students in Vietnam. Snapchat, www.snapchat.com/add/michelleobama. Accessed 14 July 2020.

Snapchat with a calendar date (Handbook §5.23):

Wilson, Rebel. Video of tire-flipping exercise. Snapchat, 14 July 2020, www.snapchat.com/add/rebelwilsonsnap.

Threads and Bluesky: Apply the Same Template

The Style Center has not published a Threads or Bluesky sample. Do not invent one. Use the same core-elements line: account name, handle test, title or description, italicized platform, date, permalink. These rows are labelled templates, not citations.

Labelled templates only — not official Style Center strings

Threads template:

Last Name, First Name [@handle]. “Text of the post.” Threads, Day Mon. Year, permalink.

Bluesky template:

Last Name, First Name [@handle]. “Text of the post.” Bluesky, Day Mon. Year, permalink.

Dates, Times, Mobile Views, and Missing URLs

Give the day-month-year when the post shows one. §5.80 says to add a time only when that time helps a reader locate the work, in the form the platform printed. Most Style Center social examples omit the clock. An access date is a supplemental element (§5.111), not a substitute for a known post date: use it when the work has no publication date or you think the post has been edited or removed. On a phone, open the share or “copy link” control; if there is still no permalink, cite the account URL or drop the location and keep the handle.

Official date, time, and access-date wording

When a time is given and helps define and locate the work, include it. Times should be expressed in whatever form you find them in the source: the twelve hour-clock form (2:00 p.m.) or the twenty-four-hour-clock form (14:00). Include time zone information when provided and pertinent.

MLA Handbook, 9th edition, §5.80.

An access date for an online work should generally be provided if the work lacks a publication date or if you suspect that the work has been altered or removed.

MLA Handbook, 9th edition, §5.111.

Mobile profile with no copyright date (Style Center):

World Wildlife Fund. “Photos.” Facebook, www.facebook.com/worldwildlifefund/. Accessed 14 July 2020.

In-Text Citations

Key the parenthetical or prose mention to the first element of the works-cited entry. Fogarty’s entry starts with Fogarty, so the citation is (Fogarty), not (@GrammarGirl). The Klein line starts with Klein. A Reddit post that starts with U/reggiew07 is cited (U/reggiew07). Social posts have no page numbers; do not invent one. If two works-cited lines begin with the same account, add a shortened title.

Official Style Center staff wording on in-text form

Create an in-text citation of a social media post the same way you would create an in-text citation for any other source: provide the shortest piece of information that directs your reader to the relevant entry in the works-cited list.

You would cite an Instagram post the way you would cite any other work—by author and, in this case, by title, since there will be more than one works-cited-list entry under the author’s name.

Official and matching in-text forms

Named author (Style Center Fogarty):

(Fogarty)

Named author (Style Center Klein prose):

In a wry post, Ezra Klein wrote that his phone was “autocorrecting ‘I’ to ‘AI’ which is a little on-the-nose” (Klein).

Photograph entry (Style Center Ng):

(Ng)

Reddit username as first element:

(U/reggiew07)

Two Instagram posts by the same account (add a shortened title):

(Gay, “Posts”) and a second Gay line keyed to that post’s title or description

Hashtags and Emojis

Hashtags stay in the title when you quote the post. The Style Center’s hashtag note (28 November 2019) and emoji note (29 October 2019) are flagged as eighth-edition advice. Ninth edition does not replace them with APA’s 20-word italic title. If you shorten a long caption with an ellipsis, a trailing hashtag may drop with the cut text.

Official Style Center emoji and hashtag wording (eighth edition, still the public note)

Emojis do not need to be included in the titles of tweets. If the emoji is important to the meaning of the tweet, you should describe the emoji in your prose.

If the tweet’s text is composed solely of the emoji itself, its title in the works-cited list should be a generic description of the emoji (MLA Handbook 28–29).

Eighth-edition handle-first emoji example (do not copy the author order into MLA 9):

@BTS_twt. Microphone emoji. Twitter, 27 Feb. 2018, twitter.com/BTS_twt/status/968572393718407168.

MLA vs APA vs Chicago for the Same Post

This page stays in MLA 9. The comparison below is only the decision that sends you to a sibling guide. It is not a second copy of Citing Social Media: Complete Guide.

What changes when the syllabus is not MLA
Decision	MLA 9 on this page	Use the other guide when
What stands in for a title	Full post text in quotation marks, or a description	APA 7 wants the first 20 words in italics — APA social media
Handle	Add [@handle] only when it is not obviously the same name	APA wants the handle on X, Instagram, and TikTok even when it matches
Platform name in 2026	X as the container for every post on that site	Chicago 18 §14.106 still allows Twitter for pre-2023 posts — Chicago social media
Where the citation lives	Prose or parentheses plus a Works Cited line	Chicago often cites the post only in the sentence or a note

Failure Modes Students Actually Hit

Importing APA’s 20-word italic title. MLA puts the post text in quotation marks and does not count twenty words. Cut with an ellipsis only when the caption is long.
*Writing Twitter after March 2024. The current Style Center container is X*. Keep twitter.com in the URL if that is what you copied; use x.com if that is what the site now shows.
Dropping a handle that does not match the name. [@GrammarGirl] and [@hamilton.vods] stay. @aliciakeys can go when the URL is present.
Quotation marks around a description. Photo of letter from Shirley Jackson has no quotation marks. The captioned Chabon line does.
Citing a reshare instead of the original. Cite the post you used. A silent repost is not a new source.
Pasting a `bit.ly` or share-sheet URL. Use the post permalink. Strip tracking parameters when the platform still resolves without them.
Forcing a works-cited line for a vanished DM or locked account. If the reader cannot open it, treat it as a personal communication or quote a public archive.
Adding a clock time to every X post. §5.80 is optional locating information, not a required fourth core element.
Starting the author with @handle (Real Name). That is eighth-edition order. Ninth edition starts with the account name.
Calling a YouTube video a social post. Use the YouTube MLA guide.

Privacy, Screenshots, and Deleted Posts

Public posts from newsrooms, agencies, and writers who publish under their names are ordinary recoverable sources. A locked account, a friends-only photo, or a private story is not something your reader can check. Do not cite it as if it were a permalinked article. If a once-public post is later deleted, §5.111 lets you add an access date when you recorded the work, and a public web archive is a better location than “Post deleted.” Keep a screenshot in your notes so you can defend the quotation; the screenshot is evidence, not a second source unless you are citing the archive.

Ethical caution still applies when the account belongs to a private person rather than a public figure. A citation is not a license to reproduce a whole image as a figure. If the post is sensitive and not necessary to the argument, leave it out.

Finish the works-cited line from the permalink

Paste the post URL into the MLA generator, then check the §5.16 handle test, the title-or-description test, and the X container. Use the worked social-media-in-MLA page when you want the same pattern next to other source types.

MLA citation generator Worked social-media-in-MLA page Worked X-post-in-MLA page Social media citation generator

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I write Twitter or X in the works-cited entry?: Write X. The MLA Style Center note of 20 March 2024 says to use X as the container for posts published before and after the 2023 name change. Copy the URL exactly; many permalinks still begin with twitter.com, and some now begin with x.com.
Do I put only the first 20 words of a tweet in the entry?: No. That 20-word italic title is APA 7 §10.15, not MLA 9. MLA uses the post text as the title of source, in quotation marks, or shortens a long caption with an ellipsis. See How to Cite Social Media in APA if your sheet is APA.
When do I include the @handle?: When the handle is not obviously the same as the account name, or when you are omitting the URL. Handbook §5.16: Fogarty keeps [@GrammarGirl]; Alicia Keys drops @aliciakeys if the TikTok URL is present.
How do I cite an Instagram Story?: Describe the image or video, give the date, name Instagram, and add the story URL. Stories vanish after twenty-four hours unless they are saved as a highlight; the Style Center still lets you cite the unsaved Story. If it was saved, cite the highlight instead, as in the Guggenheim “People” example.
How do I cite a deleted tweet or a private account?: If a public archive has the post, cite the archive. If you saw it and it is gone, Handbook §5.111 allows an access date on a line that already identifies the work. A DM or locked post that was never public should be treated as a personal communication, not as a social-media works-cited entry.
How do I cite a Reddit comment?: Name the commenter, write a description that begins Comment on . . . , italicize Reddit, date the comment, and use the comment permalink. The Style Center’s Varro-reatinus line is the model. Do not invent a u/ prefix if the page shows a different username form.
Do I have to include the time of day?: Only when the time helps someone find the post. §5.80 is a locating rule, not a required slot. Official Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok examples usually stop at the calendar date.
Should I include emojis in the title?: The Style Center’s emoji note — written against the eighth edition — says you do not have to put the emoji in the title. Describe it in your prose if the meaning depends on it. If the post is only an emoji, use a description such as Microphone emoji. Ninth edition does not replace that advice with a 20-word italic title.
Is a YouTube video cited like a TikTok?: No. TikTok is a social post whose caption or description is the title of source. A YouTube video has its own title and uploader pattern. Use How to Cite YouTube Videos in MLA for the video. A YouTube Community post follows the social template on this page.
How do I cite Threads or Bluesky in MLA?: The Style Center has not published a sample. Apply the same template: account name, §5.16 handle test, post text or a description, italicized Threads or Bluesky, the post date, and the permalink. Do not invent a fake post to fill the line.

How to Cite Social Media in MLA: Quick Answer