I think citation needed carries a connotation of “I don’t believe this is true.” It is just a lazy way to converse if you are engaged in a genial conversation in good faith. “This is new to me, can you share some references?” I appreciate we can be technical and to the point, but given the context, I felt my response was appropriate.
I do understand you interpret it as "I don't believe this is true" but my explanation "do you have a source for me?" is also a likely explanation. If I then apply the HN rules where the reader must assume good faith and interpret posts in the most positive way, I'm leaning towards assuming "do you have a source for me?"
