Digital sources are now cited as frequently as journal articles in many fields — and they are cited incorrectly far more often. The problem is not that students and researchers are lazy; it is that citation style guides were originally designed for print, and their rules for websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, and social media posts are relatively recent additions that many writers have never studied carefully.
A YouTube video is not a book. A podcast episode is not a journal article. A tweet is not a conference paper. Each digital source type has its own citation template in each major style — and the templates differ between APA, MLA, and Chicago in ways that trip up even experienced writers. This guide covers the correct citation format for every major digital source type across the three most commonly used academic citation styles.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name.
https://www.example.com/page
If the author is the same as the site name, omit the site name. If no date is available, use (n.d.).
Example:
World Health Organization. (2024, January 15). Mental health action plan
2013-2030. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240031029
Author. "Title of Page." Site Name, Publisher (if different from site name),
Day Month Year, URL.
Example:
Rothman, Joshua. "The History of 'Loneliness.'" The New Yorker,
19 Dec. 2022, www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/the-history-of-loneliness.
Footnote:
1. Author First Last, "Title of Page," Site Name, Month Day, Year,
https://www.example.com/page.
Bibliography:
Author Last, First. "Title of Page." Site Name. Month Day, Year.
https://www.example.com/page.
Common mistake: Omitting the access date. APA 7 does not require it for most websites (only for pages that change over time). MLA 9 does not require it. Chicago recommends it for undated content. Know your style's rule.
Channel Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxx
Example:
TED. (2023, April 12). The science of storytelling | Will Storr [Video].
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj-hdQMa3uA
If you are citing a specific moment, include a timestamp in the in-text citation:
(TED, 2023, 4:32)
"Title of Video." YouTube, uploaded by Channel Name, Day Month Year,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxx.
Example:
"The Science of Storytelling." YouTube, uploaded by TED, 12 Apr. 2023,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj-hdQMa3uA.
Footnote:
1. Channel Name, "Title of Video," Month Day, Year, video, length,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxx.
Example:
1. TED, "The Science of Storytelling | Will Storr," April 12, 2023, video,
15:42, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj-hdQMa3uA.
Host, A. A. (Host). (Year, Month Day). Title of episode (No. episode number)
[Audio podcast episode]. In Podcast Name. Publisher. URL
Example:
Vedantam, S. (Host). (2023, September 4). The myth of meritocracy
(No. 205) [Audio podcast episode]. In Hidden Brain. NPR.
https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510308/hidden-brain
For an entire podcast series:
Vedantam, S. (Host). (2015-present). Hidden Brain [Audio podcast]. NPR.
https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510308/hidden-brain
"Episode Title." Podcast Name, hosted by Host Name, season #, episode #,
Publisher, Day Month Year. URL.
Example:
"The Myth of Meritocracy." Hidden Brain, hosted by Shankar Vedantam,
NPR, 4 Sept. 2023, www.npr.org/podcasts/510308/hidden-brain.
Footnote:
1. Host First Last, host, "Episode Title," Podcast Name, podcast audio,
Month Day, Year, URL.
Example:
1. Shankar Vedantam, host, "The Myth of Meritocracy," Hidden Brain,
podcast audio, September 4, 2023, https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510308/hidden-brain.
APA 7:
Author, A. A. [@username]. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of post
[Post]. Platform. URL
Example:
American Psychological Association [@APAStyle]. (2024, March 3). New
guidance on citing generative AI tools is now available on the APA Style
blog [Post]. X. https://x.com/APAStyle/status/1234567890
MLA 9:
Author. "Full text of post (up to first 160 characters)." Platform,
Day Month Year, URL.
Chicago: Social media posts are typically cited in footnotes only and not included in the bibliography.
APA 7:
Author, A. A. [@username]. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of caption
[Photograph]. Instagram. URL
MLA 9:
Author. "Caption or description." Instagram, Day Month Year, URL.
APA 7:
Author, A. A. [@username]. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of caption
[Video]. TikTok. URL
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Publication Name.
URL
Example:
Kolbert, E. (2023, October 2). The case for degrowth. The New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/09/the-case-for-degrowth
Author. "Title of Article." Publication Name, Day Month Year, URL.
Same format as websites, with the publication name serving as the site name.
For entries with no individual author:
Entry word. (n.d.). In Dictionary/Encyclopedia name. Retrieved Month Day, Year,
from URL
Example:
Cognitive dissonance. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved
March 5, 2024, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cognitive%20dissonance
"Entry Word." Dictionary/Encyclopedia Name, Publisher, URL.
Accessed Day Month Year.
A URL alone is never a complete citation. Every style requires author (or organisation), title, date, and platform or site name alongside the URL.
Digital sources often display multiple dates: publication date, last updated date, access date. Use the publication date when available. For content that changes over time, include the access date per your style's rules.
"YouTube," "Instagram," "X" — these platform names are required elements in citation templates. They tell the reader what kind of source to expect.
Shortened URLs (bit.ly, t.co) can break. Use the full, canonical URL. For social media posts, use the direct link to the specific post, not a search result or profile page.
APA 7 requires a content type descriptor in square brackets: [Video], [Audio podcast episode], [Photograph], [Post]. This is not optional.
Digital sources are the category where citation generators are most likely to produce errors — because the metadata is less standardised than for journal articles, and the format rules are more recent and less widely known. DEEPNOTIS handles digital sources with the same structured approach it applies to traditional academic sources: import the URL or enter the metadata, select your citation style, and export a correctly formatted reference.
For research projects that mix traditional academic sources with websites, videos, podcasts, and social media, the citation labels feature lets you keep everything organised by theme or chapter regardless of source type — so a YouTube video that supports your argument sits alongside the journal articles in the same labelled collection.
Digital sources deserve the same citation rigour as print sources. The tools you use should make that rigour practical.
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
Modern Language Association. (2021). MLA handbook (9th ed.). Modern Language Association of America.
University of Chicago Press. (2017). The Chicago manual of style (17th ed.). University of Chicago Press.