How do I cite an Instagram post in Chicago?

To cite an Instagram post in Chicago (18th edition), include the author, title, date, and source location. Use our free citation generator for automatic formatting.

How to Cite an Instagram Post in Chicago (18th edition)

Learn how to cite Instagram posts, reels, and stories in Chicago format (18th edition). This guide includes the reference list format, in-text citation examples, and key formatting rules.

Chicago Bibliography Format

Here is the standard Chicago format for citing an Instagram post in your bibliography:

Cite in a note, not the bibliography: 1. Author Name (@username), “Caption or description,” Instagram photo, Month Day, Year, https://www.instagram.com/p/xxxxx.

Chicago Example for an Instagram Post

Chicago does not give an Instagram post an entry in the bibliography — it is cited in a note only. Here is that note, written by hand and checked against the official Chicago guidance:

1. Pete Souza (@petesouza), “9/11 anniversaries from the past,” series of seven Instagram photos, September 11, 2022, https://www.instagram.com/p/CiXjR5junw6.

Chicago In-Text Citation

Use one of these formats when referencing this source within your paper:

Parenthetical

Footnote: 1. Pete Souza (@petesouza), “9/11 anniversaries from the past,” series of seven Instagram photos, September 11, 2022, https://www.instagram.com/p/CiXjR5junw6.

Narrative

Shortened note: 2. Souza, “9/11 anniversaries.”

Key Chicago Formatting Rules

Give the author’s name with the @username in parentheses, then the caption in quotation marks.
Describe the medium after the caption: Instagram photo, Instagram video, or series of seven Instagram photos for a carousel.
Give the date as Month Day, Year and end with the post’s permalink.
Cite posts in notes; Chicago (CMOS 18 §14.106) usually leaves them out of the bibliography.
A Story expires after 24 hours: keep your own archived copy and say so in the note, or mark it as no longer available.

Step-by-Step Guide

Gather source information: Collect the author name, title, publication date, and URL or DOI for your Instagram post.
Format the reference: Arrange the elements following the Chicago (18th edition) template shown above.
Create the in-text citation: Add a parenthetical or narrative citation in your paper where you reference this source.
Add to your bibliography: Include the full formatted citation at the end of your paper.
Double-check formatting: Verify italics, punctuation, capitalization, and hanging indents match Chicago requirements.

Evidence and review notes

Worked examples on this page are written by hand from the style's own published guidance and checked against it, because the general CSL styles do not encode this source's rules. Editorial guidance and sources in this section were reviewed on 2026-08-14.

Metadata to collect

account name and @handle
caption text, or a description of the image or video
posting date
type of post (photo, carousel, reel, story or highlight)
post permalink
date you viewed it

Common metadata traps

Stories disappear after 24 hours unless the account saves them as a highlight, so record the date, the story URL and a screenshot the day you see it.
A link copied from the share sheet often carries tracking text such as ?igsh= or ?utm_source=; the permalink is the instagram.com/p/ or /reel/ address.
Citing the account’s profile page when you mean one post sends the reader to a feed that keeps changing.

Editorial sources

Chicago Manual of Style — citation quick guide →

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cite an Instagram post in Chicago?: To cite an Instagram post in Chicago (18th edition), include the author, title, date, and source location. Use our free citation generator for automatic formatting.
What is the Chicago format for an Instagram post citation?: The Chicago format for an Instagram post is: Cite in a note, not the bibliography: 1. Author Name (@username), “Caption or description,” Instagram photo, Month Day, Year, https://www.instagram.com/p/xxxxx.
What does the in-text citation look like for an Instagram post in Chicago?: In Chicago, the in-text citation for the example above is Footnote: 1. Pete Souza (@petesouza), “9/11 anniversaries from the past,” series of seven Instagram photos, September 11, 2022, https://www.instagram.com/p/CiXjR5junw6.