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APA Style 6th Edition: Citing Your Sources

Provide guidance on the APA format style based on the 6th edition of the APA Publication Manual.

Standard Format

Social Media Reference

Author, A. A. [Screen name].  (Year, month day).  Name of page or the content or caption of the post- up to the first 40 words [Content type- tweet, Facebook status update, photo, video file, etc.].  Retrieved from http://www.xxxxx

Various Examples

Social Media Examples

Tweet with author and username

APA Style [@APA_Style].  (2018, October 2).  #APAStyle covers more than references and citations. Have you seen our blog posts about principles of good writing? http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/principles-of-good-writing/ … [Tweet].  Retrieved from https://twitter.com/APA_Style/status/1047143280075509761

Instagram with author and username

University of Southern California [@uscedu].  (2019, February 20).  Great to have @CurbedLA take a look around the @lacoliseum today with USC VP of Auxiliary Services Dan Stimmler [Instagram picture].  Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BuH0pbNAC2R/

Twitter Moment

Aliyah [@steeleio_].  (2019, February 19).  My roommate’s cat is always breaking out of her bathroom. I set up this hidden camera to find out how...and y’all....i-  [Twitter moment].  Retrieved from https://twitter.com/i/moments/1098926026502127616

YouTube Channel

USC Libraries.  (n.d.)  Home [YouTube Channel].  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/user/USCLibrariesLibwire

YouTube Comment

Yurishch (2016).  Re: USC Libraries 2015 holiday message [Video file].  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sANgFwbK-w&lc=Ugj4fnnRdAqEwHgCoAEC

Additoinal Information

Find out more by visiting APA’s Style Blog- How to Cite Social Media in APA Style (Twitter, Facebook, and Google+)

If you quote or paraphrase social media content that cannot be accessed by your audience (due to privacy settings/restricted access), cite the content as personal communication.