So is Facebook really bait?? You be the judge after this article that appeared in The Gazette.

Depressed woman loses benefits over vacation photos on Facebook

An insurance company has cut the health benefits of an Eastern Townships woman, claiming she was healthy after seeing pictures on Facebook of her smiling in a bikini at the beach.

Nathalie Blanchard, 29, took long-term sick leave from her job at IBM in Bromont more than a year ago for severe depression. She was receiving monthly benefits from Manulife.

When Blanchard inquired why the payments dried up, the insurance company said that “I’m available to work, because of Facebook,” she told CBC television.

She said Manulife cited several pictures Blanchard had posted on her social networking website page, including some showing her enjoying herself during a male strip-tease show at a Chippendale’s bar, celebrating her birthday and bathing in the sun.

Based on these postings, the firm claimed Blanchard was no longer depressed.

Manulife declined to comment on the incident but said in a statement that “we would not deny or terminate a valid claim solely based on information published on websites such as Facebook.”

But the company did recognize that it uses such information to learn more about their clients.

Tags: Facebook, Gazette

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