Chicago Manual of Style Citation Guide

According to the Quick Guide, Social media citations normally appear only in-text. For a more formal citation, include a reference list entry.

See 14.106: Citing Social Media Content.

• Citations should include enough text to identify the post (up to 280 characters including spaces and emojis). 
• Comments on a post are mentioned in reference to the original post..
• Direct messages and posts on private accounts are cited as personal communication. See 14.111: Personal Communication.

If a social media citation is used frequently in your paper, or examined extensively, then include it as a formal in-text citation and in the Reference List. Otherwise, it should appear only within a sentence. A Reference List entry should include the following elements:

1. real name (if available) and screen name
2. Year
3. Title (up to 280 characters of post)
4. Social media platform
5. Date of the post (month, day)
6. URL to the specific item

Check with your professor regarding expectations for social media citations in the Chicago style.

Sample sentence for Instagram citation: In response to George Floyd's death and the resulting protest movement, a solid black post appeared on the official UBC Instagram as part of the #Blackout Tuesday campaign (@universityofbc, June 1, 2020).

In-text

(University of British Columbia 2020).

Reference list 

University of British Columbia (@universityofbc). 2020. "Together against Racism and Injustice - a message from @ubcprez." Instagram, June 1. https://www.instagram.com/p/CA59EvXguDu/.

Sample sentence for Facebook citation: The Equity and Inclusion Office (EIO) at UBC plays a key role in providing education to foster change at the university. The EIO makes use of social media as a way to connect students, staff and faculty with resources that promote equity, diversity and inclusion (@ubcequity, June 16, 2020). 

In-text

(Equity and Inclusion Office 2020).

Reference list 

Equity and Inclusion Office (@ubcequity). 2020. "In this moment of resistance, what can you do to go beyond reading lists? Check out this resource for structured recommendations and guidance on anti-racist work." Facebook, June 16, 10:41. https://www.facebook.com/pg/ubcequity/posts/?ref=page_internal.

Comments on a post are cited only in text in reference to the original post. Include time of comment in citation, if available.

Sample sentence for Social Media Comment citation: In response to George Floyd's death and the resulting protest movement, a solid black post appeared on the official UBC Instagram as part of the #Blackout Tuesday campaign (@universityofbc, June 1, 2020). While this post was liked more than 4000 times, some of the comments were critical of UBC's willingness or ability to enact anti-racist change (@danika_vincent_, June 1, 2020, comment on University of British Columbia 2020).

In-text

(University of British Columbia 2020).

Reference list 

University of British Columbia (@universityofbc). 2020. "Together against Racism and Injustice - a message from @ubcprez." Instagram photo, June 1. https://www.instagram.com/p/CA59EvXguDu/.