[comeonbro]

Here is probably the most well-known instance of Pre-Musk Twitter removing blue checks from the accounts of public figures for reasons other than the account not being who it claims to be:

https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/15/twitter-removes-verified-c...

Not pictured: innumerable other accounts which were never granted a blue check in the first place, despite being the easily verifiable real accounts of journalists and public figures.

It was de facto a caste system of political favor and connections.