PERRLA/Guides/APA 7/X (Twitter) post

How to Cite an X (Twitter) Post in APA 7

An APA 7 reference for an X (formerly Twitter) post gives the author's name and X handle in square brackets, the full date in parentheses, up to the first 20 words of the post in italics as the title, a note about any attached image, video, or link in square brackets, the description [Post], X as the site name, and the post's URL. The in-text citation is the author and the year: (CDC, 2026).

The format

Author, A. A. [@handle]. (Year, Month Day). Up to the first 20 words of the post [Image attached] [Post]. X. URL

PERRLA APA Experts · Updated October 21, 2026
Checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Paste the post's link into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA reads the post from X and fills in the author, the @handle, the date, the first 20 words of the post, [Post], X as the platform, and the URL.

Then check two things. If the post has a photo, a video, or a link preview, type Image attached, Video attached, or Thumbnail with link attached in Description of attached content. And look at the author: when an account's name ends with an abbreviation in parentheses, like World Health Organization (WHO), the search brings in the name with the abbreviation tacked on, so delete the abbreviation from the Last box.

Adding one by hand? Choose Social Media, then A social media post. Set the role to Username (screen name), type the handle with its @ in the Name box, and the person's name in First and Last. For an organization, type its name in Last and leave First empty. Type Post in Name of Platform Posts and X in Platform Name, pick the date, and paste the URL. Leave Retrieval Date empty for a post.

Citing a profile? Paste the profile's link and PERRLA sets up the profile reference, Posts tab, [X profile], and today's retrieval date included. Change Platform Name to X if it shows X (formerly Twitter).

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same reference by hand.

The parts of the reference

1. Author and handle

Give the author the way you would for any reference: a person's last name and initials, or an organization's name. Then add the X handle, with its @ sign, in square brackets, and end with a period.

Topol, E. [@EricTopol].

For an organization, use the name the account shows. APA Style's own example cites the CDC's account as CDC [@CDCgov], because that's the name on the account, and the matching name helps your reader find the post. When the account name adds an abbreviation in parentheses, like World Health Organization (WHO), leave the abbreviation out. If all you know is the handle, the handle becomes the author, with no brackets.

2. Date

Give the year, month, and day of the post, in parentheses, followed by a period.

(2026, October 15).

X shows short dates in the feed, like "Oct 15" or "21h." Open the post itself to see the full date under the text. You don't need the time.

3. Post text as the title

Use the post's own words as the title: up to the first 20 words, in italics, exactly as written. Keep the spelling, capitalization, and punctuation, and cut it off at word 20 even mid-sentence.

Don’t use glutathione injections made with dietary supplement-grade glutathione. CDC is investigating a multistate outbreak associated with compounded injectable glutathione.

A hashtag, an @mention, a link, and an emoji each count as one word. In Just published @Nature A 3-agent AI…, @Nature is word 3. APA Style says emojis themselves aren't italicized.

4. Attachment

If the post includes an image, a video, or a link preview, say so in square brackets after the title. APA's wording: [Image attached], [Video attached], or [Thumbnail with link attached]. A text-only post skips this part.

[Image attached]

5. Description

Next comes the word Post in square brackets, then a period.

[Post].

The printed 7th edition manual says [Tweet], because it came out before Twitter became X. APA Style's website now uses [Post], including for posts from the Twitter years.

6. Site name and URL

Name X as the site, then give the post's own link, the one with /status/ and a number in it.

X. https://x.com/CDCgov/status/2110732847547826493

Old twitter.com links still open on X, but write the x.com version to match APA's current examples. Don't put a period after the URL, and don't add a retrieval date for a post.

Examples

A post from an organization, with an image

A CDC warning about an outbreak tied to compounded injectable glutathione. The account's name is CDC, so the reference uses CDC. The first 20 words end with a full sentence, and the attached graphic gets [Image attached].

  • Parenthetical citation(CDC, 2026)
  • Narrative citationCDC (2026)

Cardiologist Eric Topol sharing a new Nature article. The @mention counts as a word, the title stops at word 20, and the article's link preview gets [Thumbnail with link attached].

  • Parenthetical citation(Topol, 2026)
  • Narrative citationTopol (2026)

A post from before Twitter became X

The World Health Organization's January 14, 2020, post on early reports from Wuhan, often cited in papers on COVID-19 communication. It was a tweet when it went up, but the reference uses [Post] and X, the way APA Style now shows posts from those years. The account's name is World Health Organization (WHO), and the abbreviation stays out of the reference.

  • Parenthetical citation(World Health Organization, 2020)
  • Narrative citationWorld Health Organization (2020)

An X profile

To cite an account rather than one post, cite its profile. The title is the name of the tab you're citing (Posts is the default; other tabs include Replies, Highlights, and Media), followed by [X profile]. Profiles change, so the reference gets n.d. and the date you looked at it.

  • Parenthetical citation(American Nurses Association, n.d.)
  • Narrative citationAmerican Nurses Association (n.d.)

In-text citations

An APA 7 in-text citation for an X post gives the author and the year. Use the name from the front of the reference, not the handle, unless the handle is all you have.

  • Organization: (CDC, 2026) or CDC (2026)
  • Individual: (Topol, 2026) or Topol (2026)
  • Handle only: (@handle, 2026)
  • Profile: (American Nurses Association, n.d.)
  • Two posts by the same author in the same year: add a lowercase letter after the year, in the reference and in the citation, in the order the references appear on your references page: (CDC, 2026a) and (CDC, 2026b).

Posts have no page numbers. To quote a post, put the words in quotation marks and cite the author and year; the reader finds the rest from the reference. A narrative citation names the author in your sentence: In January 2020, the World Health Organization (2020) reported no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission. More on handles, hashtags, and the 20-word rule across platforms: how to format APA citations for social media posts.

Common mistakes

  • World Health Organization [@WHO]. (2020, January 14). Preliminary investigations… [Image attached] [Tweet]. Twitter.World Health Organization [@WHO]. (2020, January 14). Preliminary investigations… [Image attached] [Post]. X.APA Style's website now uses [Post] and X for every post, including ones from before the name change. [Tweet] and Twitter come from the printed manual, which went to press before the rename.
  • CDC [@CDCgov]. (2026, October 15). Don’t use glutathione injections… [Post]. X.CDC [@CDCgov]. (2026, October 15). Don’t use glutathione injections… [Image attached] [Post]. X.When a post includes an image, a video, or a link preview, APA notes it in its own square brackets before [Post].
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [@CDCgov].CDC [@CDCgov].For a group known by its abbreviation, APA Style uses the name the account shows, so the reader can match the reference to the post.
  • World Health Organization (WHO) [@WHO].World Health Organization [@WHO].The handle already sits in square brackets after the name. An abbreviation in parentheses doesn't belong in the reference at all.
  • Just Published @Nature a 3-Agent AI Personal Health Agent…Just published @Nature A 3-agent AI personal health agent…Reproduce the post exactly. Don't put it in title case, sentence case, or fix its spelling.
  • X. https://t.co/OX0fGyCrgnX. https://x.com/EricTopol/status/2112935031329161534The URL is the post's own address. A t.co link inside a post leads to whatever the post links to, not the post.

Quick checklist

  • Author's name, then the @handle in square brackets
  • Full date: year, month, and day
  • Up to the first 20 words of the post, in italics and exactly as written
  • [Image attached], [Video attached], or [Thumbnail with link attached] when the post has one
  • [Post], then X, then the post's own x.com link
  • No retrieval date for a post; n.d. and a retrieval date for a profile

Questions students ask

Should I write [Tweet] or [Post] in APA 7?

Use [Post]. APA Style's website updated its examples after Twitter became X, and they now show [Post] and X as the site name, even for posts from 2019 and 2020. The printed manual's [Tweet] and Twitter come from before the change. If your instructor asks for the manual's version, follow your instructor.

Do I cite the post or the article it links to?

Cite what you used. If you're writing about the post itself, like how a researcher shared a study, cite the post. If you're using the study's findings, read the study and cite it as a journal article.

How do I cite a thread or a reply?

Each post in a thread, and each reply, has its own date and link, so cite the specific post you quote or discuss, with that post's first 20 words as the title. If you use several posts from one thread, each gets its own reference.

What if the post is shorter than 20 words?

Use the whole post as the title. The 20-word rule is a maximum, and short posts go in complete, hashtags and emojis included.

Can I cite a repost?

Cite the original post, credited to the account that wrote it. A repost only shares someone else's words. If you're quoting a quote post, cite the quoting account's post, since its added text is theirs.

How do I cite an X live video or a Space?

If X doesn't keep a recording and nobody posted one elsewhere, your reader can't find it, so APA treats it as a personal communication: an in-text citation only, with no entry on the references page.

Rules checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Sections 8.9, 8.17, 9.8, 9.14, 9.16, 9.19–9.22, 9.47, and 10.15, and the APA Style website's X references page. Example posts verified on X on October 21, 2026: each post's text, account name, handle, date, and attachment read from the post page and from X's embed data.

PERRLA builds the X reference from the post's link, with the handle in brackets, the text cut at 20 words, and [Post] in place.

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