Internet Materials and Social Media

Rule 7.15 is the fallback for material that lives only on the web and fits no other rule. Check the other rules first. An online journal article is still a journal article and an online newspaper story is still news. When rule 7.15 does apply, cite the author, the title in single quotation marks, the site name in italics, the document type and date in round brackets, and the URL in angle brackets.

When the author and the site are the same body, state it once. The form collapses rather than repeating the name.

Rules 4.4 and 4.5 govern URLs for every source type. Give the URL in angle brackets at the end of the citation. Prefer a stable page over a search result. Where the page may disappear, you can cite an archived copy with the archived at form rule 4.5 provides.

A social media post cites the handle, the account holder’s name in round brackets where it differs, then the platform, the date and the time of posting, and the URL. Rule 7.16 applies. Timestamps matter because accounts post many times a day.

AGLC4 predates generative AI and has no rule for chatbot output. Faculties are writing their own local rules, and they differ. Check your unit guide before citing AI generated text, and keep a record of the prompt and date.