In recent days, Twitter has been met with widespread criticism over its plan to change the meaning of the blue check mark away from identifying confirmed individuals, particularly public figures.

But to other users, the check mark has become a status symbol, unfairly reserved for a select group. It’s a sentiment Mr. Musk, with his feudalist metaphor, appears to share.

Online authenticity has become paramount in the social media age, and Twitter’s blue check mark was long the gold standard. From 2009, the blue check mark had been regarded as a symbol of ...

For now, those who still have the blue check but apparently haven’t paid the premium fee — a group that includes Beyoncé, Stephen King, Barack and Michelle Obama, Taylor Swift, Tucker Carlson ...