Sealioning
Sealioning is a recent addition to internet terminology. It is an accusation levelled at someone who is being polite and asking for evidence of claims made. A claim of sealioning seeks to recast a legitimate and polite requests for evidence of a claim made as harassment.
The term arose among anti-gamegaters who rejected requests for evidence from gamergaters.
The site Know-your-meme provides a definition of sealioning (or sea-lioning) which is fairly consistent with that used by feminists and social justice warriors (SJWs).
Sea-Lioning is an Internet slang term referring to intrusive attempts at engaging an unwilling debate opponent by feigning civility and incessantly requesting evidence to back up their claims.[1]
This definition contains a number of problems.
- If a person is participating in a conversation then it is disingenuous to suggest civil responses could be intrusive.
- The idea that someone could be an unwilling participant in an online debate is strange indeed. Anyone not wishing to participate in an online debate need only withdraw from the debate. Many sites and applications allow for the ability to block (or silently ignore) other users.
- The assertion that civility could be feigned shows a misunderstanding of the term. Civility refers to how one addresses others - even if the intent behind the civility is insincere the civility itself is exactly as it appears to be.
- The onus of proof lay with the person making the assertion. Requesting evidence for an assertion made is entirely reasonable.
In popularising this term Feminists and SJWs seek to discredit attempts to get them to provide evidence for their arguments.
A more accurate definition of sealioning is offered by the Urban Dictionary:
To express disagreement with, express skepticism of, or otherwise simply talk back to an internet social justice advocate or internet radical feminist.[2]