diff --git a/src/views/general.nim b/src/views/general.nim
index 34e80e9..b18dae5 100644
--- a/src/views/general.nim
+++ b/src/views/general.nim
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ proc renderHead*(prefs: Prefs; cfg: Config; req: Request; titleText=""; desc="";
     meta(property="og:site_name", content="Nitter")
     meta(property="og:locale", content="en_US")
 
-    if banner.len > 0:
+    if banner.len > 0 and not banner.startsWith('#'):
       let bannerUrl = getPicUrl(banner)
       link(rel="preload", type="image/png", href=bannerUrl, `as`="image")