The backlash against the “RT:” is getting nasty. Let's try to figure out some rules here, shall we?
Source: dogshaming.com
As the role of social media in breaking news comes under fresh scrutiny, an old grudge, long simmering below the surface, has bubbled up again: hatred for the manual retweet.
A manual retweet is when you type in "RT" before someone else's tweet, instead of a "true" retweet using the official retweet button.
The ire comes from two places. Firstly, a manual retweet in a way claims someone else's tweet as your own — sort of a Twitter version of putting your watermark logo on someone else's photo. Secondly, a manual RT robs the original tweeter of potential retweets and favorites. By manually RTing, you're bogarting the favs, man.