Sea-Lioning originated from a 2014 Wondermark webcomic titled 'The Terrible Sea Lion' by David Malki. The term describes a specific form of online harassment where a participant relentlessly pesters someone with demands for evidence and polite-but-bad-faith questions under the guise of 'civil discourse.' This behavior is designed to exhaust the target while making the 'sea-lion' appear reasonable to outside observers. Since its debut, the meme has become a staple of internet sociology, used to identify and mock individuals who use performative politeness to derail conversations or avoid accountability.