It is acceptable to refer to images and videos in your academic work. It is most important to check the veracity and suitability of whatever you are citing and critical that you've understood that online media can be manipulated to represent a particular point of view and have people believe something that is untrue. This is commonly referred to as Fake News and Misinformation.
This selfie of a pilot photographing himself in the air was actually a photo of him when he was safely landed, but it's important to mention, that even on land, it's a pretty cool selfie! The 'in the air' selfie caused outrage and many thousands of comments when the photo appeared online, clearly manipulated, but damaging nonetheless to the pilot and the airline.
InVID Tool used to verify image and video content shared on social media
ThisPersonDoesNotExist Are you curious about the profile picture on a social media account? Be aware that ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com uses artificial intelligence to generate endless fake faces that can be uploaded to create the appearance of a legitimate profile. If you spot a profile picture that looks slightly off-kilter, ask yourself whether the person actually exists!