And I’m not feeling fine.
How do you cite a tweet in an academic paper?
First you need to ask yourself “Why do I need to cite a tweet in an academic paper?” or, alternatively, “What kind of piece of shit academic paper am I writing if I am citing tweets?”
Sadly, the people at the MLA (Modern Language Association) have come up with an answer to the linked question.
I could see citing tweets made by citizens as their government was murdering them (Iran, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Myanmar, etc.).
Writing about an emergency, I could see citing tweets to the effect of “911 is down” or “look at these photographs of FEMA employees doing their jobs”.
If you were writing a position paper about the illegality of government employees to delete tweets made from their official accounts, I could see citing tweets, and having a format for citing deleted tweets.