What is verified badge?
Also called: blue tick · blue check
Verified badge
The blue check displayed beside an account name to indicate Instagram has confirmed it represents the person or brand it claims to.
Verification is an authenticity signal, not a quality or size one. It matters for brand monitoring mainly as a disambiguator: it tells you which of six accounts using a brand's name is the brand.
Since paid verification became available, the badge confirms less than it used to, and the account's own history and link footprint are the better check.