By Kimball Austin Sachs
In today’s digital town square, Reddit poses as a bastion of free speech and open debate—until you challenge the medical status quo. I found that out the hard way after posting a deeply personal and evidence-backed comment about gadolinium toxicity and intravenous (IV) chelation therapy, only to be quietly shadowbanned within an hour. No warnings. No feedback. Just silence. My comment became invisible to anyone not logged into my account—while the thread deceptively shows “+2 comments,” mine is nowhere to be seen. This is censorship dressed in camouflage.
This wasn’t a conspiracy theory or medical quackery. My July 30, 2025 post linked directly to ICD-10 diagnostic codes recognizing gadolinium toxicity. It cited Dr. Richard Semelka, a respected radiologist and widely acknowledged expert in Gadolinium Deposition Disease (GDD), who has publicly advocated for chelation therapy after extensive clinical observation. It shared a real-world story—my story—about my son, who suffered debilitating effects after being administered a gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) without proper consent or medical necessity.
And yet Reddit silenced it.
The Gatekeeping of Moderators
The thread in question was started by Dr. Brent Wagner, a nephrologist who hosted a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) post (https://www.reddit.com/r/GadoliniumToxicity/comments/1mcbyho/ama_brent_
wagner_professor_of_medicine_university/). When I shared an alternative perspective—one backed by both data and personal experience—it was removed from public view. Whether by moderators or automated tools, the effect is the same: censorship. There’s no due process. No transparency. No recourse.
Let’s be honest: this kind of gatekeeping has nothing to do with “misinformation.” It’s about protecting reputations, preserving orthodoxy, and silencing dissent—especially when that dissent implicates powerful institutions like hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Dr. Semelka vs. the Status Quo
Dr. Richard Semelka isn’t a fringe figure. He’s a published researcher, a former professor of radiology at UNC, and the doctor who first identified Gadolinium Deposition Disease. His conclusions about IV chelation are based on treating real patients—not theory, not fear, but actual, clinical results. His blog, writings, and interviews are open to public scrutiny. Contrast that with anonymous moderators or one-size-fits-all Reddit “health experts” who have never met a single GDD patient.
And let’s not forget: doctors like Dr. Brent Wagner are not the ones who suffer if a patient is harmed by contrast agents. My son did. My family did. We live with the fallout. They don’t.
What Reddit Doesn’t Want You to Ask
- Why was my comment hidden instead of openly challenged?
- Who decides which voices are allowed in so-called open forums?
- Why does Reddit have no meaningful appeal process for shadowbanned users?
- What is being lost when patients and caregivers are erased from the conversation?
The Bigger Danger
This is about more than Reddit. It’s about the silencing of patient stories, the suppression of independent medical voices, and the erosion of informed consent. If my comment had been filled with rage, profanity, or conspiracy, I would understand moderation. But it wasn’t. It was clear, sourced, and critical—exactly the kind of content these platforms claim to support.
The truth is this: moderation is not neutral. When patients are censored, corporate medicine wins.
A Final Word
If you’re reading this and wondering what to believe, I won’t ask you to take my word for it. Do your own research. Read Dr. Semelka’s blog. Search the ICD-10 updates. Ask questions that make doctors uncomfortable. And most importantly, don’t let Reddit or any platform decide what truths you’re allowed to hear.
Because censorship in medicine isn’t just unethical—it’s dangerous.
My ORIGINAL REPLY in response to “BaseCommanderMittens” 5 paragraph reddit post that was shadow banned:
• 3h ago
To BaseCommanderMittens: Regarding your #4 – The ICD10 codes for gadolinium toxicity have already been added. Link: https://askphc.com/decoding-2024-icd-10-cm-changes-a-four-part-series/?utm_source=chatgpt.com (just do a keyword search for “gadolinium” and you’ll see the multiple codes listed). Regarding #5, Dr Richard Semelka already addressed this very topic in depth on his blog. Link: https://www.richardsemelka.com/single-post/chelation-is-the-only-method-that-works-comprehensively-to-improve-patients-with-gadolinium-and-othe . Something for you to seriously consider: If you or anyone you know/love is suffering from gadolinium toxicity/poisoning/GDD, why let the opinion of one man (Dr Brent Wagner) stand in your way to prove to yourself or your loved ones that IV chelation, per the #1 gadolinium toxicity expert in the world (Dr Richard Semelka) is the most effective way to remove the actual poison (gadolinium)? My son was POISONED by gadolinium (Gadavist) from just one single MRI back in 2019. His medical records clearly show that I, the father, did NOT consent to his having an MRI with contrast in no less than 3 entries. On the last day of his incarceration at the children’s hospital they duped my wife (she is Chinese and did NOT receive ANYTHING that could be considered full disclosure of the KNOWN DANGERS of gadolinium based contrast agents from the attending doctor) into getting the MRI with contrast. Hours BEFORE the MRI I went to the hospital to talk to the biological father who flew over from China and my stepson by marriage jumped up onto me. The biological father was FURIOUS that his own son did not recognize or even acknowledge him the prior 24 hours and so his fatherly ego was bruised and he told me to leave. We were to discuss safe medical alternatives because the children’s hospital doctors misdiagnosed a simple case of MSG food poisoning that had the appearance of a seizure. My wife witnessed all of this. Hours AFTER the MRI (at that point the biological father went back to his hotel) my son was laying lifelessly in the hospital bed and was frothing at the mouth. He looked like a zombie autistic basketcase and urinated on me the moment I picked him up. My wife witnessed this as well. I KNEW they had poisoned him from the MRI. That was OBVIOUS. To make matters worse the discharge resident doctor (Dr Vonita Chawla) and the senior attestation doctor (Dr Adib Rodriguez Solares) both LIED on the discharge record as follows: “Discharge condition: good. Alert in no distress. Moving all 4 limbs”. There’s just one MASSIVE problem with that; my wife and I are in receipt of the hospital surveillance video courtesy of the grossly incompetent police detective (BCPD Christopher Slack) that NEVER conducted anything remotely resembling an investigation. Investigation into what you may ask? The detective falsely accused and arrested us, the parents, for non-existent child neglect/abuse charges (no less than 3 felonies each) for what was actually iatrogenic gadolinium poisoning. The show trial for this insanity is scheduled to commence on September 16, 2025. And what caused all of this? Gadolinium. Is it worth the risk? I believe the answer is SELF EVIDENT. For any readers who would like to see the smoking gun evidence hospital video: https://www.youtube.com/@theaustinpowers . For any readers who would like to see the hearings leading up to the show trial and the trial itself: https://ournevadajudges.com/media/events?state=%7B%22show_case%22:%2287,1370%22%7D . Dr Richard Semelka is the one who discovered gadolinium deposition disease. He knows FIRSTHAND what that has done to his patients. He knows FIRSTHAND how IV chelation therapy has helped his patients. He IS honest! I know because I met him. It makes a LOT more sense to NEVER put a KNOWN poison into your body in the first place. Any doctor that tells you differently is NOT GOING PHYSICALLY SUFFER one bit if you end up getting injured. LET THAT SINK IN A GOOD LONG WHILE.
SCREENSHOTS PROVIDING PROOF OF reddit SHADOWBANNING