This page contains reference examples for YouTube, including the following:
- YouTube video
- YouTube channel
The same format can be used for other sites that host user-generated videos, such as Vimeo.
Cite a livestream (e.g., YouTube live) that is not archived by its hosting platform and cannot be retrieved by any other means (i.e., recorded and made available online via another hosting site) as a personal communication.
1. YouTube video
Asian Boss. (2020, June 5). World’s leading vaccine expert fact-checks COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy: Stay curious #22 [Video]. YouTube. //www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQdLDMLrYIA
Harvard University. (2019, August 28). Soft robotic gripper for jellyfish [Video]. YouTube. //www.youtube.com/watch?v=guRoWTYfxMs
- Parenthetical citations: (Asian Boss, 2020; Harvard University, 2019)
- Narrative citations: Asian Boss (2020) and Harvard University (2019)
- Use the name of the account that uploaded the video as the author.
- If the account did not actually create the work, explain this in the text if it is important for readers to know. However, if that would mean citing a source that appears unauthoritative, you might also look for the author’s YouTube channel, official website, or other social media to see whether the same video is available elsewhere.
- To cite the words of individuals featured in a video, name or describe the individual(s) in your sentence in the text and then provide a parenthetical citation for the video. For example, the Asian Boss video is an interview with the director general of the International Vaccine Institute; you should provide details about who spoke and what they said in the text of the sentence and then cite the video using the parenthetical citation shown.
- Provide the specific date on which the video was uploaded.
- Italicize the title of the video.
- Include the description “[Video]” in square brackets after the title.
- Provide the site name (YouTube) and URL of the video.
2. YouTube channel
- YouTube channel pages begin on the “Home” tab by default. If you want to cite one of the other tabs (e.g., “Videos,” “Playlists”), use the name of that tab rather than “Home” in the title element of the reference (as in the Walker example).
- Italicize the title of the channel.
- Include the description “[YouTube channel]” in square brackets after the title.
- Provide a retrieval date because the content is designed to change over time and is not archived.
This guidance is new to the 7th edition.
Date created: February 2020
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YouTube Video (p. 215)
Reference list:
Last name, First name of the creator. “Title of the video or audio.” Title of the Website, role of contributors and their First name Last name, Version, Numbers, Publisher, Publication date, URL.
Example:
RotoBaller. “RotoBaller MLB: Top Fantasy Baseball Catcher Dynasty League Prospects for 2016.” YouTube, commentary by Raphael Rabe, 27 Mar. 2016,youtu.be/gK645_7TA6c.
In-Text Citation:
(Author Surname OR Screen name)
Example:
(RotoBaller)
Purdue Owl
MLA style gives authors several ways to cite YouTube videos.
If you are citing a video in which the primary creator or author is clear, you can list that creator in the Author element. The following provides an example of a citation for the music video of Beyoncé’s song “Pretty Hurts”:
Beyoncé. “Beyoncé – Pretty Hurts (Video).” YouTube, 24 Apr. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXQLa-5n5w.
The title of the video is copied exactly as it appears on YouTube. The container is YouTube, followed by the date listed below the video and the Location element (the URL of the video).
If it’s not clear who the primary creator or author of a video is, you could omit the Author element and begin the citation with the title of the video:
“Capybara Eat Huge Pumpkin.” YouTube, uploaded by Alex Smith, 12 Jan. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YNwxZnABzA.
In this example, the video’s creator is not specified. The name of the account that uploaded the video is provided in the Contributor element, after the title of the container, YouTube. Even if it’s clear who the author or creator of a video is, you might opt to include the name of the account that uploaded the video in the Contributor element if it provides helpful information.
If you are citing an entire work uploaded to YouTube, such as a film, use what you see on YouTube to cite the work in MLA style. Here is an example citation for a film:
Moby Dick. Directed by John Huston, MGM, 1956. YouTube, 8 Jan. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1Yc8KPH-X0.
Details about the film’s original publication are found in the YouTube description below the video and so are provided in the citation. Here Moby Dick is a self-contained work, and so its title is listed as the first container. It is followed by the Contributor, Publisher, and Date elements. YouTube is the title of the second container, followed by the Date and Location elements.
For more on how to cite YouTube videos in MLA style, see our posts on citing TV episodes on YouTube and interviews on YouTube, as well as our related posts on citing online videos and formatting titles of uploaded videos,