PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/Facebook post

How to Cite a Facebook Post in MLA 9

An MLA 9 Works Cited entry for a Facebook post starts with the name on the account (a person last name first), then the post's text in quotation marks as the title, shortened with an ellipsis if it's long, Facebook in italics, the day, month, and year it was posted, and the post's URL without https://. The in-text citation is the name alone: (CDC).

The format

Last Name, First Name (or Page Name). "Text of the post." Facebook, Day Month Year, www.facebook.com/page/posts/#.

PERRLA MLA Experts · Updated October 27, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Choose Social Media, then A social media post. For an organization's page, use the Group Author (Organization) role and type the page's name. For a person, use Username (screen name) and type the first and last name in First and Last. Paste the post's text into Post Content, or its opening words followed by a spaced ellipsis ( . . . ) if it's long. Type Facebook in Platform Name, pick the date, and paste the post's URL. Leave Description of attached content empty, since MLA doesn't use it. PERRLA puts the text in quotation marks, italicizes Facebook, writes the date day-month-year, and drops the https:// from the link.

Pasting a post's link into PERRLA's reference search? PERRLA reads what Facebook shows the public: the page's name, the opening of the post, the URL, and the date when Facebook shares it. Then check three things. Facebook hands over only a preview of the text, so replace Post Content with the post's own words. A person's page comes in as a Group Author (Organization), like "Bill Gates," so change the role to Username (screen name) and type the first and last name. And if the date comes in blank, open the post and hover over its time stamp to see the full date. Private and members-only posts can't be read, so enter those by hand.

Citing a whole page, like an organization's About tab? Choose Page or profile on a social media platform, type the tab's name in Page Title, leave Page Description empty for MLA, and click Today under Retrieval Date so the entry ends with the date you viewed it.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Author

Use the name on the account. A page run by an organization gets the organization's name, exactly as the page shows it. A person gets their last name, a comma, and their first name. End with a period.

CDC.

Gates, Bill.

The CDC's page is named CDC, so the entry says CDC. MLA's own Facebook examples, like its World Wildlife Fund examples, give just the name on the page, with no handle in brackets. In a Facebook group, the author is the member who wrote the post, not the group.

2. Text of the post as the title

Facebook posts don't have titles, so the post's own words stand in for one. Put them in quotation marks, exactly as written, with the period inside the closing quotation mark.

Most Facebook posts run long, so MLA lets you shorten the title: keep the opening words, then end with an ellipsis (three spaced periods) and the period that closes the title.

"Most people age 14 and up should aim to keep sodium under 2,300 milligrams a day. Toddlers and children should consume even less. The bulk of sodium sneaks in through highly processed foods, not the salt shaker . . . ."

If the post puts something in double quotation marks, change those to single ones inside your title, like ‘the beautiful game’ in the Bill Gates example below. Leave out emojis, which MLA keeps out of Works Cited entries, and run line breaks together with single spaces.

A post that's only a photo or a video gets a description in your own words instead, with no quotation marks and no italics, like Photo of a blood drive at a hospital.

3. Facebook as the container

Facebook is the container, the site that holds the post, so its name goes in italics, followed by a comma. A status update, a photo, a video, and a Reel all take the same container. MLA adds no label like [Status update] or [Video].

Facebook,

4. Date

Give the day, month, and year the post went up, in that order, followed by a comma. Abbreviate months longer than four letters (Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.).

9 Oct. 2026,

Facebook shows short dates in the feed, like "October 9 at 10:00 AM" or "3d." On a computer, hover over that time stamp to see the full date with the year. A page or tab has no single date, so give the date you viewed it at the end instead.

5. URL and access date

End with the post's own link and a period. Open the post by selecting its time stamp, then copy the address from your browser. MLA drops the https:// from the front.

www.facebook.com/cdc/posts/pfbid031QMRAz9VeeFmTQiwf9sYrctGxvehf4Q8G8qAdrKQ3So3HFBpspGuZiGT9ddupjQwl.

Post links are long, and that's fine. Don't use the link to the whole page, which only shows its newest posts. A tracking piece on the end, like ?fbclid= or ?mibextid=, isn't needed to find the post, so you can trim it. Facebook lets pages edit a post after it goes up, so MLA suggests adding the date you viewed it when the text could change: Accessed 21 Oct. 2026. A page or tab should always get one.

Examples

A long post from an organization, shortened

A CDC post on daily sodium limits. The post goes on for several more sentences, then a link and four hashtags, so the title keeps the first three sentences and ends with an ellipsis. The page's name is CDC, so the entry and the in-text citation both use CDC.

  • In-text citation(CDC)
  • Narrative citationAs the CDC points out, …

A video post from a person's page

Bill Gates sharing a video on Grassroot Soccer, a program that uses soccer to help young people with health challenges from HIV prevention to mental health. His name goes last name first. The caption is short, so the whole thing is the title, and its quotation marks around “the beautiful game” become single ones inside the title. A video takes no [Video] label in MLA.

  • In-text citation(Gates)
  • Narrative citationAs Gates explains, …

A Facebook page

To cite a page itself, such as an organization's About information, cite the tab you used. The tab's name is the title, in quotation marks. A page has no single date and changes over time, so the entry ends with the date you viewed it, the way the MLA Style Center cites a page's Photos tab.

  • In-text citation(American Nurses Association)
  • Narrative citationThe American Nurses Association's Facebook page …

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation for a Facebook post gives the first word or words of the Works Cited entry, which is usually the name on the account. No date, and no page number, since posts don't have one.

  • Organization: (CDC)
  • Person: (Gates)
  • Facebook page: (American Nurses Association)
  • Name in your sentence: no parenthetical is needed: The CDC pointed out that most sodium comes from highly processed foods, not the salt shaker.
  • A quote from what someone says in a video: add the time where the quote starts, the way your player shows it: (Gates 00:00:12).
  • Two posts from the same account: add a short version of each title, in quotation marks, after a comma: (CDC, "Most people").

In your Works Cited list, a Facebook entry is alphabetized by the name on the account, like any other source.

Common mistakes

  • CDC. (2026, October 9). Most people age 14 and up should aim to keep sodium under 2,300 milligrams a day. Toddlers and children should [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook.CDC. "Most people age 14 and up should aim to keep sodium under 2,300 milligrams a day. Toddlers and children should consume even less. The bulk of sodium sneaks in through highly processed foods, not the salt shaker . . . ." Facebook, 9 Oct. 2026,That's APA. MLA puts the post's text in quotation marks instead of italics, has no 20-word cutoff, drops the bracketed labels, italicizes Facebook, and moves the date after the platform.
  • "Most people age 14 and up should aim to keep sodium under 2,300 milligrams a day. Toddlers and children should consume even less.""Most people age 14 and up should aim to keep sodium under 2,300 milligrams a day. Toddlers and children should consume even less . . . ."When you shorten a post, end with an ellipsis so your reader can see the title stops before the post does.
  • Bill Gates. "Grassroot Soccer uses “the beautiful game” to help…"Gates, Bill. "Grassroot Soccer uses ‘the beautiful game’ to help…"Two fixes. A person's name goes last name first. And quotation marks inside a title that's already in quotation marks become single ones.
  • (CDC, 2026)(CDC)MLA in-text citations don't use the year. A post has no page numbers, so the name stands alone.
  • Facebook, 9 Oct. 2026, www.facebook.com/cdc.Facebook, 9 Oct. 2026, www.facebook.com/cdc/posts/pfbid031QMRAz9VeeFmTQiwf9sYrctGxvehf4Q8G8qAdrKQ3So3HFBpspGuZiGT9ddupjQwl.The URL goes to the post itself. The page's main link only shows whatever the page posted most recently.

Quick checklist

  • The name on the account: organization as written, person last name first
  • The post's text in quotation marks, as written, minus emojis
  • A long post shortened with a spaced ellipsis, then the closing period
  • Facebook in italics, then the day, month, and year
  • No [Status update], [Video], or [Image attached] label
  • The post's own link, without https:// or tracking codes, ending with a period
  • An access date for a page or tab, or a post that could be edited

Questions students ask

How long should the title of a Facebook post be in MLA?

MLA has no word limit. A short post goes in whole. A long one can be shortened to its opening words, followed by a spaced ellipsis and the period that closes the title. Cut at a point where the words still make sense on their own, like the end of a sentence.

How do I cite a post in a Facebook group?

Cite it like any other post, with the member who wrote it as the author, the post's text as the title, Facebook, the date, and the post's link. The group's name doesn't replace the author. If the group is private, your reader can't open the post, so ask your instructor whether it's a good source for your assignment first.

How do I cite a Facebook video or Reel in MLA?

The same way as any post: the name on the account, the caption in quotation marks (or a description if there's no caption), Facebook, the date, and the video's link. MLA adds no [Video] label. To quote something said in it, add the time stamp to the in-text citation.

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

Cite what you used. If you're writing about the post itself, like how the CDC talked about sodium with the public, cite the post. If you're using facts from the linked page or article, open it and cite that source instead.

Do I need an access date for a Facebook post?

It's optional for a dated post, but the MLA Style Center suggests one whenever the text could have been edited after it went up, which is true of Facebook posts. A page or tab, which has no single date, should always end with the date you viewed it.

Can I cite a Facebook post in a nursing paper?

Yes, when the post itself is your evidence, like how a health agency explains a guideline to the public. For clinical facts, cite the study or guideline behind the post, and check with your instructor if you're not sure a social media source will count.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements, including text from the work or a description as the title) and chapter 6 (in-text citations), and the MLA Style Center's posts on citing social media (including its World Wildlife Fund Facebook post and Photos page examples and the shortened-title example), access dates for social media, citing Twitter now that its name is X (single quotation marks inside a quoted post), and emojis in titles. Example posts are the ones verified for the APA 7 page. The CDC post's full text and its date (October 9, 2026, 10:00 a.m. Eastern) re-read from Facebook's public embed of the post on October 27, 2026, and Bill Gates's full caption and page name from the embed of the Reel; the Reel's July 18, 2026, date and the ANA About tab rest on the APA page's October 21 check.

PERRLA builds the Facebook entry from your details, with the post in quotation marks, <em>Facebook</em> in italics, and the date in MLA order.

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