Censorship's Black Widows

What do Kate Starbird, Nina Jankowicz, Katherine Maher, and Renée DiResta have in common?

Typically associated with a female figure who manipulates, seduces, or exploits, which leads to her downfall or death. This archetype can be found in various cultures and folklore, symbolizing destructive feminine power, betrayal, and death. —Susan Guner

What do Kate Starbird, Nina Jankowicz, Katherine Maher, and Renée DiResta have in common? Hopefully, they’ll soon be defanged and weened from the taxpayer. But that’s not exactly what I’m driving at.

Holistic psychotherapist Susan Guner has an interesting set of insights about archetypes—particularly feminine ones. Some are healthy. Some can be unhealthy, like that of the black widow:

The black widow spider itself is known for its tendency to consume its mate after copulation, which has led to its symbolic association with the archetype of a dangerous, predatory female.

Those who fear black widow spiders know intuitively that these arachnids can lurk in the shadows, which means their harm is not always direct or apparent.

How does this archetype arise? Here’s Guner again:

The Black Widow archetype can represent an unconscious defense mechanism that some women might develop in response to trauma, fear, or a need for control, specifically within the realm of the “unseen child” imprint. (My emphasis.)

Guner, a new friend who spoke at the Between Worlds: London event, expressed concern that this archetype can manifest as a subtler form of authoritarianism.

Spy, Censor, and Spin

Let’s look at the profiles of some of the most prominent members of the Censorship-Industrial Complex.

Kate Starbird is a professor at the University of Washington and co-founder of the Center for an Informed Public (CIP), an organization funded by grants from the federal government and philanthropies such as the Knight Foundation. Her work at CIP focuses on misinformation, especially about elections and public health. Her critics argue that her approach conflates dissent or skepticism with misinformation, designed to narrow acceptable debate under the pretense of combating disinformation—aligning too closely with elite media, governmental perspectives, and a vast censorship apparatus. The U.S. House, “Weaponization of the Federal Government” committee, identified Starbird as a close conspirator in censoring dissenting voices on social media.

Nina Jankowicz is a former fellow at the Wilson Center, a think tank with federal and private funding, and briefly served on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Disinformation Governance Board. Jankowicz is known for her advocacy against online misinformation, particularly around foreign interference, but her association with the Orwellian DHS board drew criticism for promoting government overreach into speech regulation. Jankowicz incorrectly identified The New York Post's Hunter Biden laptop story as Russian disinformation. Critics contend that her stances and policies would stifle free expression and introduce partisan biases, especially in activities precluded by the First Amendment.

Katherine Maher is currently CEO of NPR and served as CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, overseeing Wikipedia’s policies and operations until 2021, and remains involved in digital policy through various advisory roles. Funded largely by public donations and foundations like the Sloan and Omidyar Foundations, Wikipedia, under Maher’s leadership, came under heavy criticism. Indeed, in 2022, she said,

Perhaps for our most tricky disagreements, seeking the truth and seeking to convince others of the truth might not be the right place to start. In fact, our reverence for the truth might be a distraction that's getting in the way of finding common ground and getting things done.

In other words, she openly advocates partisan narrative over truth. Her critics argue that her tenures at the Wikimedia Foundation and NPR reflect institutional biases, potentially leading to uneven portrayals of contentious topics based on editor consensus and selective sourcing deemed “reliable.”

Renée DiResta is a researcher at the Stanford Internet Observatory, which purports to study disinformation online. But as journalist Glenn Greenwald reminds us, there’s no such thing as a disinformation expert.

Still, the *research* is funded by Stanford University, entities like the Hewlett Foundation, and government grants. DiResta’s work identifies and analyzes disinformation networks, particularly on social media. Critics contend that her recommendations for more robust content moderation are censorship and surveillance in disguise, limiting open discourse, and prioritizing certain viewpoints at the expense of perspectival diversity.

Protective But Harmful

The Black Widow archetype could also be linked to complex trauma, leading to survival strategies that are protective but harmful to others.

I have generally referred elsewhere to the Cluster B personality disorders and cognitive distortions that tend to animate the worst excesses of social justice fundamentalism.

But Guner goes deeper than this concerning the authoritarian feminine:

[From an] evolutionary perspective, Black Widow traits likely have served adaptive purposes.

Its sophistication lies in its ability to operate beneath the surface—such as cunning, seduction, or emotional manipulation—to gain influence where direct power would be denied.

One wonders about the overlap between Cluster B and the black widow archetype.

As these subtle sociopaths have found their way into elite institutions and echelons of power—we had better figure out how to defang them without embracing the masculine authoritarianism of the Boy Pharaoh archetype and his attendant Pillar-Saint apologists.

The Prosocial Feminine

I am no psychotherapist. My invocation of Susan Guner’s work on destructive or authoritarian feminine archetypes in the context of psyops, censorship networks, and information control is speculative.

However, it’s important to see the patterns at this abstract level of description, because threats to free expression are numerous and rapidly becoming institutionalized.

In contrast to the "Black Widow" archetype, several healthy, productive feminine archetypes reflect prosocial qualities and emotional resilience. These archetypes represent paths to growth, connection, and strength at the local level.

• The Crone

  • Wise, intuitive, offers guidance.

  • Provides perspective and inner validation.

• The Creator

  • Creative, inspiring, expressive.

  • Connects through art and inspires shared vision.

• The Sovereign

  • Confident, responsible, and lead with integrity.

  • Uplifts and protects others with purpose.

• The Nurturer

  • Compassionate, empathetic, serves others.

  • Builds resilience through caring and mutual support.

• The Protector

  • Brave, assertive, loyal defender.

  • Advocates for justice and sets clear boundaries.

• The Healer

  • Compassionate, patient, resilient.

  • Transforms pain into understanding and empathy.

• The Alchemist

  • Innovative, adaptable, insightful.

  • Turns challenges into growth and personal evolution.

If I am right, circumstances will soon be such that politicians and bureaucrats won’t be able to pretend to save us from the coming economic collapse. (The Second Trump Administration is not only unlikely to save us—much less establish the conditions for us to save ourselves—though he will receive the lion’s share of the blame when the shit finally hits.) Power’s pendulum will swing from the Boy Pharaohs back to the Black Widows no matter what happens among the jockeying partisans and back-biting functionaries.

We have to save ourselves.

So, we must become more discerning as we seek out those who demonstrate healthy feminine and masculine traits in our communities. As we self-organize to make it through tough times, we will do well to elevate local leaders of virtue and talent. But virtue and talent are, in great measure, dispositional.

The archetypes are cognitive sketches of our dispositions.