Skip to Main Content

APA 7th ed. - Referencing Tool

Referencing - Social Media

Facebook

  • - Personal authors names follow the format: Surname, First initial, Second initial. 
  • - Corporate Author or Social media identity names are printed in full.
  • - If there is no name or title of the post use the content or caption (up to the first 20 words).
  • - Indicate the type of post in square brackets eg. [Facebook post] or [Status update]. Facebook.
  • - Please provide a precise URL.  Click on the post's date stamp to access the URL.

 

Personal Author Example

Surname, Initial. (Year, Month, Day ; if not known, put n.d.). Title of specific document [Status update]. Facebook. URL of specific document

Corporate Author Example

Corporate Author Name. (Year, Month, Day ; if not known, put n.d.). Title of specific document [Status update]. Facebook.  URL of specific document

In text example

 Reference list example

 In-Text Citation:

...(World Health Organization, 2020)

 

 

Scott Morrison (2022)  announced that Australia international borders . . .

 

 

 

Polio has recently resurfaced in Nigeria (World Health Organization, 2016) . . . 

 Facebook Page

World Health Organization. (n.d.). Home [Facebook page]. Facebook. Retrieved September 25, 2020, from https://www.facebook.com/WHO/

Facebook post (individual author):

Scott Morrison (ScoMo). (2022, February 7). Important news today that Australia will reopen our international border to all remaining fully vaccinated visa holders from 21 February [Video attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=520885819397015

Facebook post (group author):

World Health Organization. (2016, August 12). We are deeply saddened by the news that 2 Nigerian children have been paralysed by polio. The Government of Nigeria [Status Update] [Article attached]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/WHO/posts/1193450940700287

 

 

 

 

For further information see:

Instagram

  • - Include Author, A.A. and then the user name in square brackets
  • - Note the presence of audiovisuals (in square brackets) after the text of the post
  • - Social media posts might contain nonstandard spelling and capitalisation, hashtags, links and emojis. Do not alter the spelling and capitalisation in a social media reference. Retain hashtags and links, Replicate emojis, if possible.
  • Identify the type of post it is in brackets after the title such as [Photograph], [Video], [Instagram profile], [Highlight].

Structure

Personal or Corporate Author [@user name]. (Year, Month, Day ; if not known, put n.d.). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Photograph/Video/Instagram profile/Highlight]. URL of specific document

In text example

 Reference list example

  In-Text Citation:

. . . (White Rabbit Gallery, 2020)
 
 
 
 
Cancer Council Australia (n.d.) chose to highlight bowel cancer . . .

Instagram profile:

White Rabbit Gallery [@whiterabbitgallery]. (2020, October 20). Welcome to the official Instagram for #whiterabbitgallery The White Rabbit Gallery is open [Photograph]. https://www.instagram.com/whiterabbitgallery/

Instagram highlight:

Cancer Council Australia [@cancercouncil]. (n.d.). Australia has one of the highest rates  of bowel cancer in the world [Highlight]. Instagram. Retrieved January 21, 2020, from https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17930993809343788/

 

 

 

For further information see:

LinkedIn

  • - It is not possible to tell what date a LinkedIn profile was published, so only the retrieval date is included.

 

Example

Personal or Corporate Author. LinkedIn [Profile page]. LinkedIn. Retrieved (date of retrieval), from URL of specific document

In text example

 Reference list example

 

 In-Text Citation:
. . . (Dalio, n.d.).

References:

Ray Dalio (n.d.). Home [LinkedIn page]. LinkedIn. Retrieved December 13th, 2021, from   https://www.linkedin.com/in/raydalio/

 

 

 

For further information see:

Pinterest

Pinterest is a content discovery platform rather than a content-creation platform. Rather than citing an image found on Pinterest, you should instead click on the link and go to the original page containing the photo/content and cite that. This means citing Pinterest is the same format as citing an image from a website.

  • - For images from a website with no author, use the name of the organisation.
  • - If there is no date use n.d.

 

Example

Personal or Corporate Author. (Date). Title of webpgage. Copyright attribution. URL 

In text 

 Reference list

 Fig. 3 

Dining Room (Feagin, 2020)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feagin, L. (2020). This is how you renovate an architect-designed mid-century home - Dining Room. Copyright 2020 by thedesignfiles.net.  https://thedesignfiles.net/2020/09/homes-amelia-oliver-hesketh-lindfield/

 

 

 

Twitter

  • - Personal authors names follow the format: Surname, First initial, Second initial. 
  • - Corporate Author or Social media identity names are printed in full.
  • - If there is no name or title of the post use the content or caption (up to the first 20 words).
  • - Indicate the type of post in square brackets eg. [Tweet].
  • - Please provide a precise URL.  Click on the post's date stamp to access the URL.

 

Example

Personal or Corporate Author. (Year, Month, Day ; if not known, put n.d.). Title of specific document [Tweet]. URL of specific document

In text example

 Reference list example

 

 In-Text Citation:

President Obama announced the launch of the American Graduation Initiative (Obama, 2009).

References:

Obama, B. [BarackObama]. (2009, July 15). Launched American Graduation Initiative to help additional 5 mill. Americans graduate college by 2020: http://bit.ly/gcTX7 [Tweet]. http://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/2651151366

 

 

 

For further information see:

Two Different Sources, Same Author and Year

  • - If you are using two different sources with the same author and year of publication (regardless of the month or day), you will need to distinguish these in both your in-text citations and your reference list. 
  • - Add a lowercase 'a' following the year to the first citation to appear in the body of your assignment. Add letters to subsequent sources  in order. 
  • - The sources will appear in your Reference List in the same order that they appear in the body of your assignment.

In text example

 Reference list example

 In-Text Citation:

He also stated that he was “humbled” to have received the Nobel Peace Prize (Obama, 2009a).

 

President Obama announced the launch of the American Graduation Initiative (Obama, 2009b).

 References:

Obama, B. (2009a, October 9). Humbled [Status update]. Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/posted.php? id=6815841748&share_id=154954250775&comments=1#s154954250775

Obama, B. [BarackObama]. (2009b, July 15). Launched American Graduation Initiative to help additional 5 mill. Americans graduate college by 2020: http://bit.ly/gcTX7. [Tweet]. http://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/2651151366