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Social media might be something you do for fun in your spare time, but that doesn’t mean you’ll never need to use social media posts in a more formal setting. With hundreds of millions of users on Instagram, there is a ton of relevant and verifiable content, so learning how to cite an Instagram post is useful. Regardless of whether you’re looking to cite an Instagram photo or video, we have you covered for MLA format, APA format, and Chicago style.
Citing these kinds of posts might seem tricky, but we’ve laid out clear instructions below on how to cite each kind of post, supplemented by citations of example posts from cool Instagram accounts you should totally check out.
When you’re looking to cite a photo from Instagram, you need only take five important pieces of information into consideration. You don’t need to worry about anything else other than which of the three citation styles you need for your particular assignment or paper.
To correctly cite an Instagram photo, you must take the following pieces of information into consideration:
Note: Citing a photo that you retrieved from Instagram isn’t much different than citing a photo that you found anywhere else online, and once you get the hang of it, you should be in good shape to cite any photo on Instagram, regardless of what account it is posted on.
To help make the process a little easier to understand, we’ve included an example (a cool nature photo that was reposted on National Geographic’s Instagram account from photographer Corey Arnold’s account).
Account holder’s Last name, First name [Username]. “Photo Title or Description.”* Instagram, other contributors, date photo was published, URL.
*If no title is available, create a simple description and do not place it in italics or quotation marks.
Here’s how the above example would be cited in MLA 9:
National Geographic [@natgeo]. Photo of Bering Sea. Instagram, photographed by Corey Arnold, 3 Apr. 2017, www.instagram.com/p/BSaisVuDk7S/?taken-by=natgeo.
Here’s how the above example would be cited in an in-text citation:
(Account Holder’s Name)
(National Geographic)
Note: When the account name and username are similar, the username can be excluded from the citation. For example, if the account’s username was @FirstNameLastName or @OrganizationName.
Account holder’s Last Name, First Initial or Username (Year, Date Published). Photo title* [Photo description]. Retrieved from URL
*If the person’s full name and their username are both available, place the full name first and then their [username] inside brackets directly following it.
**If the item does not have an official title, place a description of it in brackets.
Here’s how the above example would be cited in APA:
National Geographic [@NatGeo]. (2017, April 2). [Photograph of the Bering Sea by Corey Arnold]. Retrieved from //www.instagram.com/p/BSaisVuDk7S/?taken-by=natgeo
Account holder’s Last name, First name or Username. “Photo Title.” Instagram, Date published. Date accessed. URL.
Here’s how the above example would be cited in Chicago:
National Geographic. “Photo of Bering Sea by Corey Arnold.” Instagram, April 2, 2017. Accessed April 7, 2017. //www.instagram.com/p/BSaisVuDk7S/?taken-by+natgeo.
In addition to learning how to cite photos on Instagram, you also might be wondering how to cite videos posted to the social media platform, especially since more and more people seem to be incorporating videos on social media in addition to photos.
Luckily, the process for citing videos from Instagram is pretty similar to the process for citing photos from Instagram—and it’s also similar to the process of citing videos found on any other website.
While it might seem confusing initially, if you take note of the pieces of information listed below, you should be in good shape!
To correctly cite an Instagram video, you must take the following pieces of information into consideration:
Note: Once you have these pieces of information, you just need to check and make sure you’re using the proper citation style as needed for your particular assignment or paper. All three citation styles outlined here require these five important pieces of information and nothing more.
Below, you’ll find details on how to cite in MLA 9, APA, and Chicago styles, as well as a specific example of a video cited from Instagram (check out @itsdougthepug for more photos and videos like this one).
Poster’s Last name, First Name [Username]. “Video Title.”* Instagram, other contributors, date published, URL.
*If no title is available, create a simple description and do not place it in italics or quotation marks.
Here’s how the above example would be cited in MLA 9:
Doug the Pug [@itsdougthepug]. “I Climb All The Time…Into Bed.” Instagram, 1 Apr. 2017, www.instagram.com/p/BSWo9-0j940/?taken-by=itsdougthepug&hl=en.
Here’s how the above example would be cited in an in-text citation:
(Account Holder’s Name)
(Doug the Pug)
Note: When the account name and username are similar, the username can be excluded from the citation. For example, if the account’s username was @FirstNameLastName or @OrganizationName.
Poster’s Last Name, First Initial. [Username].
* (Year, Date). Title of video [Video File] (or short description if there’s no title. Place this information in brackets). Retrieved from URL
*If the author’s full name is not available, place their username first.
Here’s how the above example would be cited in APA:
@itsdougthepug. (2017, April 2). I climb all the time…into bed [Video File]. Retrieved from //www.instagram.com/p/BSWo9-0j940/?taken-by=itsdougthepug&hl=en
Poster’s Last name, First name or Username. “Video Title.” Instagram video, Date published. Date accessed. URL.
Here’s how the above example would be cited in Chicago:
@itsdougthepug. “I Climb All The Time…Into Bed.” Instagram video. April 2, 2017. Accessed April 7, 2017. //www.instagram.com/p/BSWo9-0j940/?taken-by=itsdougthepug&hl=en.
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To cite an Instagram post, include the following details: the name of the person or group, the Instagram username, the date of posting, the content of the post, a description of the post in square brackets (e.
g., [Photo or Video]) if needed, the website name, and URL.
APA
| Reference list | Author Surname, X. Y. [@username]. (Year, Month Day). Content of the post: Up to 20 words if possible [Type of post]. Website. URL |
| Example | BBC News [@bbcnews]. (2021, May 2). Stunning meteor caught on camera [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CTgsKkhHq3e/ |
| In-text Citation – Parenthetical | (Author Surname, Year) (BBC News, 2021) |
| In-text Citation – Narrative | Author Surname (Year) BBC News (2021) |
MLA
| Reference list | Author Surname, First Name [Username]. “Content of the Post.” Website, Day Month Year, URL. |
| Example | BBC News [@bbcnews]. “Stunning Meteor Caught on Camera. ” Instagram, 2 May 2021, https://www.instagram.com/p/CTgsKkhHq3e/. |
| In-text Citation – Parenthetical | (Author Surname) (BBC News) |
| In-text Citation – In Prose | Author Surname BBC News |
To cite an Instagram story, include the following details: the name of the person or group, the Instagram username, the content of the story, a description of the post in square brackets (e.g., [Highlight]) if needed, the website, the retrieved/accessed date, and URL.
APA
| Reference list | Author Surname, X. Y. [@username]. (n.d.). Content of the story [Highlight]. Website. Retrieved Month Day, Year from URL |
| Example | BBC News [@bbcnews]. (n.d.). Stunning meteor caught on camera [Highlight]. Instagram. Retrieved May 2, 2021 from https://www.instagram.com/p/CTgsKkhHq3e/ |
| In-text Citation – Parenthetical | (Author Surname, Year) (BBC News, n.d.) |
| In-text Citation – Narrative | Author Surname (year) BBC News (n.d.) |
MLA
| Reference list | Author Surname, First Name [Username]. “Content of the Post.” Website, URL. Accessed Day Month Year. |
| Example | BBC News [@bbcnews]. “Stunning Meteor Caught on Camera.” Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/p/CTgsKkhHq3e/. Accessed 2 May 2021. |
| In-text Citation – Parenthetical | (Author Surname) (BBC News) |
| In-text Citation – In Prose | Author Surname BBC News |
Below are examples of citations for various types of works posted on Instagram.
For explanations, see our post on citing social media.
Michael Chabon paid tribute to Milton Glaser by posting one of the designer’s iconic images on Instagram.
Work Cited
Chabon, Michael. “#rip Milton Glaser. I grew up in his work. So hard to pick a favorite, maybe this, which also features one of the many awesome typefaces he designed, Baby Teeth. #mahaliajackson #miltonglaser.” Instagram, 28 June 2020, www.instagram.com/p/CB-E9gngVwo/.
Angie Thomas posted a photo of a burned copy of her book The Hate U Give, the only item to survive a young fan’s house fire.
Work Cited
Thomas, Angie. Photo of burned copy of The Hate U Give. Instagram, 4 Dec. 2018, www.instagram.com/p/Bq_PaXKgqPw/.
In Hamilton, when the colonists rebel against England, King George expresses his feelings in a humorous solo.
“Remember we made an arrangement when you went away. Now you’re making me mad,” he sings (Hamilton Videos).
Work Cited
Hamilton Videos [@hamilton.vods]. Video of King George in Hamilton. Instagram, 5 July 2020, www.instagram.com/p/CCPEUJLDz0l/.
You can learn more about the author of Bad Feminist on her Instagram account (Gay).
Work Cited
Gay, Roxane. “Posts.” Instagram, 2020, www.instagram.com/roxanegay74/.
Hilla Rebay, the first director of the Guggenheim, is featured in the highlighted story “People” on the museum’s Instagram account (Guggenheim Museum).
Work Cited
Guggenheim Museum. “People.” Instagram, 2020, www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17850044881917911/.
The Museum of Modern Art promoted its custom playlists with a photo of Fernand Léger’s The Three Musicians in an Instagram story (Museum of Modern Art).
Work Cited
The Museum of Modern Art. Image of Fernand Léger’s The Three Musicians. Instagram, 14 July 2020, www.instagram.com/stories/themuseumofmodernart/2353246125954046321.
Note that Instagram stories disappear after twenty-four hours unless the creator saves them as a highlight. You can still cite unsaved stories by providing a description of the image or video, the date it was posted, and the URL of the story. The example under the heading “Story” above shows an unsaved Instagram story.
Filed Under: photographs, profiles, social media, videos, works-cited lists
Published 30 June 2021
Internet
0 916 4 minutes to read
Quoting an article on the Internet is currently one of the most common ways to obtain information.
The Internet, as a huge computer network, has become an important tool of use throughout the world. Its breadth and versatility ensure that users can access this excellent source of information. Although it should be noted that in many cases it is necessary to perform high-quality filtering.
At the time of development of research paper , there are certain rules to be considered. Since the incorrect use of links or sources can cause inconvenience. To avoid this, in this guide you will learn how to quote or link to articles on the Internet. Whose methodology is based on a set of rules that will make your creations easier to understand.
Standards set by American Psychological Association (APA) is the best alternative for structure your research paper . These rules are the correct style for quoting or linking to any article on the Internet. The way to do this will depend on the type of content you want to quote.
The most commonly used are those listed below:
Quote online article Applying the APA standards ensures the reliability and assurance of your final project or thesis upon graduation. To know how to carry out any work in accordance with these standards, you must carefully follow the instructions below:
Remark : The meeting data must be split into consecutive points, in addition to the following order above. Here are two examples:
If you want to quote articles from the Internet press or a specific newspaper on the Internet, you need to consider some additional information as this is not a single article but editorial style. Know how pleasure correct references in your books follow these directions:
In the following example, you will see the exact way to quote or link to newspaper articles or an online magazine:
If you need to refer to an article in an online magazine , you will also be able to do it very simply. To apply it according to the APA standards, just consider a few important things:
An example of this type of reference would be the one detailed below:
Perez. M. (2021, January 27). Sustainable Footwear: The Brand Guide to Follow. Vogue . Retrieved from https://www.vogue.es/moda/articulos/zapatos-sostenibles-marcas-zaleres.
. MLA (Modern Language Association's ) standards are not as widely used as those mentioned above (APA). However, in fields such as art and philosophy, they are used more frequently. With that in mind, the way to quote or link to articles on the web would be:0003
First of all, it should be noted that these rules do not include the URL when quoting the web page because she sees something unstable and dynamic in them.
To cite an article from a website or web page, the following characteristics must be considered:
Remark : If you do not have the name of the author or publisher, you must use the abbreviation np. And if for some reason you don't have a date, you should use the abbreviation nd
For these types of quotes , the URL is included only if it is assumed that the reader cannot find the file . In this case, it should be placed between the <> signs after the website name. With that in mind, the way to cite an ebook with MLA standards is as follows:0003
There are no URL exceptions for these types of quotes, as is the case with the procedures mentioned above. To do this, you must take into account the following information in the order described:
Once you have applied the rules described above to quote or refer to an article from the Internet , your results will exceed the expectations of your mentors or teachers. Now you must take into account that information sources found on the Internet must be properly localized according to standardized standards in order to be referenced.
At the present time - the era of digital personality - the desire for mobility, operational communication, presented in different formats, is becoming a paramount task.
In connection with these trends, special symbols and words are created to indicate an invitation to unite and discuss different people, even strangers. Thus, @ - (from the first letter of the English alphabet), "dog" in folk slang, became a striking example of a global sign of the newest time. Every minute this sign is used by billions of people in the world. Symbol @ was invented in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson, the founder of e-mail, an employee of the American company BBN Technologies. The first address with a dog sign was tomlinson@bbn-tenexa. The “dog” sign became massive in 1996, when one of the first free mail services “Hotmail” appeared.
The pound sign # - "hashtag" began to enjoy the same global popularity. Hashtag or Oktotorp (label) (from the English Hashtag, hash - lattice and tag - label) - a word or group of words that begins with the sign (symbol) of the lattice #. The symbol # is called "lattice", "hash", "sharp", "sharp". This symbol is used in the C programming language.
There it is called a "hash".
The # sign and the word "hashtag" appeared in 2007. The first email with the hashtag on Twitter is: "What do you think about using the hashtag (#) for different groups?" Posted August 23, 2007 by symbol author Chris Messina. The hashtag has become a symbol of the digital age and has changed the language of millions of people around the world. This sign has acquired special significance among the youth. According to the results of 2012, the American Dialectological Society named "hashtag" the word of the year. The word hashtag entered the Oxford English Dictionary in June 2014.
The purpose of scientific research is to show the role of the relevance of mastering the modern language of computer vocabulary by students and the meaning of this symbol and word in the modern digital space, to reveal the features of its use in the youth audience. For a more complete disclosure of the topic, it is supposed to analyze the functionality of this word and sign in educational, game content, social networks, blogs, popular among young people, and their pedagogical connotations.
It also assumes a systematic analysis of hashtags as a new linguistic phenomenon.
Hashtags are special discourse elements of text created to function on the Internet. They perform a variety of tasks: they group messages of the same content in microblogs, provide a quick search for the necessary information, and at the same time make it possible to express creativity. In the practice of the modern information environment, different ways of creating hashtags have been developed. Along with the use of word-building means and the rejection of the use of syntactic means of the language, the participants in the media space show interest in the language game, the creation of precedent texts. The hashtag serves to acquire a special communicative status.
Millions of users use the hashtag on blogs and social networks to quickly find information or group together on a specific topic. So, in VKontakte, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, #Tik Tok, the hashtag has become a generally accepted means for designating various kinds of content and is very actively used for communication, communication, information, self-presentation.
The importance of hashtags for online platforms is evidenced by the fact that the sites of these platforms contain tips on using hashtags. For example, Instagram offers free ways to promote Instagram accounts: “The first method is based on 90 hashtags. They must be divided into three categories (30 each): hype, thematic and individual. Next, you need to prepare 3 publications with text and graphic content. Then place three posts, with an interval of 15-20 minutes, assigning your own category of hashtags to them” [Ismagilova].
All aspects of youth life - from hobbies to education - are reflected in messages through the hashtag. So, the site determines the purpose of educational pages on Internet platforms: “ Education. This can be either purposeful study of certain courses or publications of a person, or casual, such as reading articles published by your friends. Information depends on the range of interests of a particular group of people and can be culinary recipes, literature on developmental psychology, and much more” [Social networks.
– https://wiki.rookee.ru/xeshteg].
Educational projects with a hashtag are in high demand. They are in demand among the youth audience for their speed, conciseness and a small amount of useful information, youth slang, interesting presentation and originality of educational material. For example, in #Tik Tok, a large-scale educational site has been created Univer Tik Tok to attract children of different ages to learning. This project was born in one of the social networks in China to help in the study of various academic subjects. On the page of Univer Tik Tok , those who wish, both teachers and students, schoolchildren, place educational videos. Content is created by users themselves. “The developers of Tik Tok have decided to launch special educational content and channels. First there were two Indian channels designed for learning English. Cooperation with educational schools has begun. The subject expanded rapidly. Initially, foreign courses were replaced by educational videos on mathematics, interior design, natural sciences, fitness and others” [https://#news #tiktok].
Educational or training content is also created on Instagram. Due to the format, only photos with a small comment can be placed here, one of the first educational accounts on Instagram was created by National Geographic magazine with posts of photos from all over the world. On this social platform, you can post diagrams for quickly learning English and other languages, reproductions of paintings by famous artists, small book reviews, mathematical formulas with explanations.
In this regard, it can be concluded that the use of hashtags in the names of sites or Internet addresses of educational resources that are understandable to modern schoolchildren and accepted in the modern youth environment contributes to the activation of cognitive interests, positive personal acceptance of developing educational resources.
The word hashtag in Russian has become popular due to the development of social networks. It has become common, especially among young people. The popularity of the sign led to the fact that various organizations (for example, mobile networks), advertising, PR, prominent people of Russia actively connected to the hashtag.
So, money transfer to MTS goes through # transfer amount .
Access to the personal pages of public figures convinces: in order to increase their popularity and attract the attention of other users, famous people aim at self-presentation. Non-public persons also try to draw attention to their personality, their page, their profession. To do this, they not only carefully select the media material that they post online, but also carefully consider the content of the texts [Navoloka, p. 570].
The hashtag has turned from a foreign term into a common word in Russian. “As you can see, a foreign word rarely duplicates the meaning of Russian - in the vast majority of cases there is a semantic difference between them, which is also superimposed by a functional-stylistic difference: a foreign element is often a term, and its Russian parallel is an ordinary, commonly used word” [Krysin, 1996, p. 143].
In turn, the word hashtag influenced the emergence of new concepts in Russian, such as hypertext, hyperlink, hashtag memes .
Currently, in the total population, hashtags make up a huge information hypertext array [Galyamina, p. 110].
According to L.S. Patrusheva, hashtags in their function are geolocation hashtags, motto hashtags, self-presentation hashtags, reflection hashtags, response hashtags, quote hashtags [Patrusheva, p. 474].
Hashtag memes are actively used among young people. The history of the term "meme" is associated with the book "The Selfish Gene" (1976) Oxford University professor Richard Dawkins. Meme (meme ("meme") from the Greek word μήμιμα - "likeness")) is a word, video, image, sound signal, picture that has gained popularity on the Internet and has become universally recognizable symbols (through social networks, instant messengers, forums, blogs).
“Like any precedent phenomena, memes undergo various kinds of transformations in the process of use and take on many varieties. The recognition of a hashtag meme serves as the basis for its further use, including in traditional areas of communication.
In interpersonal discourse, it is not the semantic compression carried out by the hashtag that is more significant, but the ability to convey emotions, to evaluate what is being reported” [Galyamina, p. 103].
Consider examples of using the hashtag in social campaigns:
12 state museums of the Moscow region took part in the #MuseumSelfie international flash mob and invited guests to take pictures against the backdrop of exquisite museum interiors. The purpose of the event: visiting museums, expressing one's attitude to works of art, creating a creative selfie.
The event was held under the auspices of the all-Russian social movement #PUTINTEAM and hockey player Yury Ovechkin.
Famous Russian sports stars talked to young people, held master classes and played hockey. The idea of the event is to introduce young people to a healthy lifestyle.
Galyamina Yu.E. notes that hashtags are used both by the author in the Instagram blog post and in the comments, which allows not only to include an entry in the general array of information related to this content, but also to express an attitude towards what has been read [Galyamina, p. 113].
During the pandemic, information with a hashtag made it possible to quickly transmit information about the course of the pandemic, anti-pandemic measures, connected with volunteer organizations: #YavolonterMO, #socialproject, #volunteer, #volunteer.
Especially popular during the period of self-isolation were the tags #pandemic, #legacy pandemic, #gloom pandemic, #flu pandemic, #pandemic of the 21st century, #pandemic on the verge, #obesity pandemic, #laboratory pandemic, #protein pandemic.
During the difficult period of self-isolation in Russia, an action of mutual assistance began between people of different generations, education, nationalities #WeTogether . Prominent celebrities and respected citizens appealed to help needy people, the elderly, those with many children. Information about specific facts of mutual assistance was posted on the website # myvmeste2020.rf . Here one could find out how different people help each other, how anyone can help their neighbor.
On April 1, 2020, which took place during the pandemic, the All-Russian action for the Day of Laughter took place in an online format. The participants were offered the following creative tasks:
Tag @ skm_rus under the video. 
The concept of a linked hashtag has appeared in online messages. Related hashtags are the most popular words used most often on Instagram in posts with the search word. An example of such was the top 10 related hashtags. In the country of Rossiya, memes are used #humor meme, #fun Moscow, #laughter Russia, #funny memes.
To support each other in online communities, a hashtag with special symbols, badges, and icons is actively used. These hashtags are designed to get likes (like, like), mutual likes of individual messages, photos. Emoticons are especially popular in networks. For example, a collection of Emoji emoticons by main groups: emoticons and people, animals and nature, food and drinks, sports and outdoor activities, travel and places, objects, symbols, country flags. Instagram uses emoticons and icons to include in hashtags.
Thus, the hashtag as a global sign is one of the active communication units in the information space. It, along with other global signs, has authentically fit into the modern Russian language and has become an integral part of its communication space.
