To answer the question, yes, I have observed “sealioning” and I think it is a real thing and there are some people who do it regularly. However, I think this is a term that has a high chance of being misused. From what I understand of this term, when used properly sealioning refers to insincere questioning, it’s inherently dishonest and disingenuous. It involves someone asking for clarification and evidence, but refusing to accept any provided and not responding specifically to anything provided. Their intent is to antagonize and harass, not to engage in a debate even if they claim that is their true intent. So what’s the controversy? Well, a quick Google search reveals that “sealioning” seems to almost always be used by left-wingers and “social justice warriors” when confronted with requests to defend their positions and explain their arguments. Anyone who refuses to take the assertion of an SJW as “Gospel truth” is accused of sealioning. Of course there are bad faith requests for clarification and the way to tell is that these bad faith requests don’t engage with the material. However, I can see this term being used to stifle debate and accuse anyone who asks for clarification and evidence of “sealioning” when the real issue is that the person presenting the initial claim is unable to back up their claim, knows it, and tries to obfuscate by throwing out accusations of “sealioning”. And of course this wouldn’t apply only to those on the left or “SJW“s. I can think of creationists or political conservatives who expect you take everything they say as truth and will balk at requests to explain further or provide more evidence. It’s not limited to one side of the aisle in theory, but may be in practice from what I’m reading on Quora and other sites. I think this is a real phenomenon, but I think it should be carefully used. Not everyone who questions what you say or asks for clarification is “sealioning”. This term assumes you can correctly identify the motivations of another person online. Sometimes you can—if the person doesn’t engage with what you say and refuses to read any links you provide, you may have a “sealion”. But I think this is also an awfully convenient way to avoid any debate or avoid digging into the evidence for your claim further. What I find especially irritating is a related phenomenon I call “gotcha” questions, where a person seems to be asking for debate or honest answers but has only one “correct” answer in mind and when anyone responds with anything else, they will harass and goad you until you give the “correct” answer (often responding to any other answer with “nope, try again!” or something otherwise cheeky and obnoxious).