Social media platforms like Twitter (now rebranded as X) are increasingly used in academic research. Tweets can provide public opinion, official statements, or real-time commentary that may be highly relevant to your essay, report, or dissertation.
In academic writing, it is essential to cite tweets properly. This guide explains how to reference a tweet in Harvard style, complete with examples and tips.
What is a Tweet?
A tweet is a short text post published on Twitter/X. It may include text, images, videos, or links, but in referencing, you usually cite the author’s name, content, date, and link.
Unlike books or journal articles, tweets are a form of digital micro-publication. However, they should still be referenced using the Harvard referencing rules for online sources.
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General Format for a Tweet Citation in Harvard Style
In-text citation
(Author’s surname Year)
OR
Author’s surname (Year)
Reference list entry
Author surname, Initial(s) Year, Full text of tweet in italics, Twitter, Day Month, <URL> [Accessed Day Month Year].
Key elements: Author’s name/handle, Year, Tweet text (italicised), Platform (Twitter), Date of post, URL, Accessed date.
Example: Tweet by an Individual
In-text citation:
Tony Abbott (2014) shared on Twitter…
Reference list entry:
Abbott, T 2014, A momentous, historic day, Twitter, 16 June, <https://twitter.com/tonyabbottmhr/status/123456789> [Accessed 23 September 2015].
Example: Tweet by an Organisation
If the tweet was posted by a company, institution, or group account, cite the organisation name as the author.
Reference list entry:
BBC News 2022, Breaking: Historic climate deal reached at COP27 summit, Twitter, 20 November, <https://twitter.com/bbcnews/status/987654321> [Accessed 22 November 2022].
Citing a Tweet with No Author Name
If only the Twitter handle is available, use it as the author.
Example:
@WHO 2021, Vaccines save millions of lives every year, Twitter, 10 March, <https://twitter.com/who/status/135791113> [Accessed 12 March 2021].
Frequently Asked Questions
For a tweet citation:
- Author’s Twitter handle.
- Date of the tweet.
- Full tweet text.
- “Tweet” in square brackets.
- URL of the tweet. Example: @username. (Year, Month Day). “Tweet text.” [Tweet]. Retrieved from URL
No. Only publicly accessible tweets can be cited. If the tweet has been deleted or the account is private, it cannot be referenced in academic work.
If both are available, use the real name in the reference and place the handle in brackets, e.g., Elon Musk (@elonmusk). If only the handle is available, cite that.
For a thread, cite each individual tweet you are referencing, rather than the thread as a whole.
Every tweet is timestamped. If you cannot locate the exact date, it is best to avoid using that tweet as a source since proper citation requires it.
If a tweet contains media, you still cite it as a tweet. You don’t need to describe the image or video unless it is directly relevant to your argument.
