What Is a Manual Retweet on Twitter?

If you're on Twitter, you may know what a retweet is and how it works. A "manual" retweet, on the other hand, is a particular form of retweeting.

Manual Retweets Explained

A manual retweet involves copying and pasting another user's tweet into the Compose new Tweet box and then typing 'RT' (which stands for retweet) before the tweet text, followed by the Twitter handle of the user who initially tweeted it. A manual retweet is a friendly way to give someone credit for a great tweet that gets reposted by someone else.

For example, a manual retweet might look something like any of the following:

• RT @username: The sky is blue!
• RT @username: 10 Amazing Cat Videos You Won't Believe Are Real http://clickbaitcatvideos.com
• Me neither! RT @username: Can't wait for the next episode of #GameOfThrones tonight!

Imagine the actual usernames of the users you're retweeting in the above scenarios, and that's all there is to it. The last example includes a comment before the manual retweet from the retweeter who reacts and replies to the original tweet.

Regular Retweets Explained

The manual retweet trend was big in Twitter's early days, but it's now used less often. Twitter now gives you the option to retweet someone else's tweet by featuring their entire tweet (including profile photo, Twitter handle, original tweet text, and all) by embedding it into your Twitter profile stream.

A glance at any tweet in your stream should show a Retweet link or button represented by an icon with two arrows—both on the web and the Twitter mobile apps. That retweet button is there, so you don't have to manually retweet another user's tweet.

This explains why you might see other profile photos and Twitter users show up in your stream that you don't follow. The people you follow are retweeting other tweets from other users, but they're not doing it manually by creating a new tweet and typing 'RT' in front of it.

When Should You Use a Manual Retweet Versus the Twitter Retweet Function?

Some users frown upon manual retweets because even though they include the original tweeter's Twitter handle, the user who manually retweeted them gets all the favorites, interactions, and additional retweets. BuzzFeed published an informative article on the matter, which explains the art of Twitter retweet etiquette.

As shown in the third manual retweet example above, manual retweets are useful when one user wants to react and reply to another user's tweet as they retweet it. Although this wasn't always possible in Twitter's regular retweet function, updated versions of Twitter now allow an additional comment in the retweet.

When you click or tap the retweet button on any tweet, the tweet appears over your screen in a box with a comment field above it. Doing so is preferable to manual retweeting because you can use 280 characters in your comment while retweeting another user's tweet fully. The retweeted tweet is attached to your comment and appears embedded in your feed.