Meaning of sealioning | Babel Free

Definitions

A type of trolling or harassment that consists of pursuing people with relentless requests for evidence or debate, often tangential or previously addressed, while maintaining a pretense of civility and sincerity, and feigning ignorance of the subject matter, in order to wear down an opponent and incite angry responses that will discredit them.

uncountable

Examples

“Sealioning is a harassment tactic by which a participant in a debate or online discussion pesters the other participant with disingenuous questions under the guise of sincerity, hoping to erode the patience and goodwill of the target to the point where they appear unreasonable.”

“Sealioning thus works both to exhaust a target’s patience, attention, and communicative effort, and to portray the target as unreasonable. While the questions of the “sea lion” may seem innocent, they’re intended maliciously.”

CEFR level