How to cite a tweet in APA

To cite a tweet, a Twitter moment, or a Twitter profile according to the APA 7th Edition citation style guide, you need the following information:

• Author and Twitter handle (beginning with the @ sign)
• Date of the post
• The first 20 words of the tweet as the title
• If the tweet includes an image, a video, a poll, or a thumbnail image with a link
• The name of the publisher (Twitter)
• The URL of the tweet, moment, or profile

Once you have this information, you also need to think about what you want to reference. Are you trying to cite a tweet, a Twitter moment, or a Twitter profile? Follow our guide for each of the different scenarios:

How to Cite a tweet from Twitter in APA

To cite a tweet in APA Style, you must add the following in order:

1. Author followed by Twitter handle (beginning with the @ sign) in square brackets, followed by a period
2. Date of the post. Provide as specific a date as possible
3. The first 20 words of the tweet as the title (italicized) Count a URL, a hashtag, or an emoji as one word each, and include them if they fall within the first 20 words
4. If the tweet includes an image, a video, a poll, or a thumbnail image with a link, indicate that in brackets after the title: [Image attached], [Video attached], [Thumbnail with link attached].
5. “[Tweet]” in square brackets after the title.
6. The name of the publisher (Twitter)
7. Finally, the URL of the tweet

For example, if you want to cite the following tweet:

The reference would look like this:

The in-text citation would look like this:

How to Cite a Twitter moment from Twitter in APA

A Twitter moment is a curated set of stories from Twitter. Since the moments are subject to change, it’s always important to add the retrieval date. To cite a Twitter moment in APA Style, you must add the following in order:

1. Author followed by Twitter handle (beginning with the @ sign) in square brackets, followed by a period
2. Date of the post. Provide as specific a date as possible
3. The first 20 words of the tweet as the title (italicized) Count a URL, a hashtag, or an emoji as one word each, and include them if they fall within the first 20 words
4. “[Moment]” in square brackets after the title
5. The name of the publisher (Twitter)
6. Retrieval date
7. Finally, the URL of the Twitter moment

For example, if you want to cite the following Twitter moment:

The reference would look like this:

The in-text citation would look like this:

How to Cite a Twitter profile from Twitter in APA

To cite a Twitter profile in APA Style, you must add the following in order:

1. Author followed by Twitter handle (beginning with the @ sign) in square brackets, followed by a period
2. “(n.d.)” as the profile has not set date
3. Twitter profiles begin on the “Tweets” tab by default. If you want to cite other tabs (e.g., “Tweets & Replies,” “Media,” “Likes”), use the name of that tab rather than “Tweets” in the title element of the reference (italicized)
4. “[Twitter Profile]” in square brackets after the tab
5. The name of the publisher (Twitter)
6. Retrieval date
7. Finally, the URL of the Twitter profile

For example, if you want to cite the following Twitter profile:

The reference would look like this:

The in-text citation would look like this: