diff --git a/src/mavedb/lib/external_publications.py b/src/mavedb/lib/external_publications.py
index a48ff718..326102d7 100644
--- a/src/mavedb/lib/external_publications.py
+++ b/src/mavedb/lib/external_publications.py
@@ -564,4 +564,5 @@ def _fetch(self, url: str, return_format: str = "json") -> Any:
             return []
 
         response.raise_for_status()
+
         return json.loads(response.text) if return_format == "json" else response.text
diff --git a/src/mavedb/lib/identifiers.py b/src/mavedb/lib/identifiers.py
index d5bfdbd4..c8d5d6ac 100644
--- a/src/mavedb/lib/identifiers.py
+++ b/src/mavedb/lib/identifiers.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import json
+import logging
 import os
 from typing import Mapping, Optional, Union
 
@@ -23,6 +25,8 @@
 from mavedb.models.uniprot_identifier import UniprotIdentifier
 from mavedb.models.uniprot_offset import UniprotOffset
 
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 # XXX these classes all have an "identifier" attribute but there's no superclass
 # to unify them ...
 
@@ -322,7 +326,17 @@ async def find_generic_article(
             ).scalar_one_or_none()
 
             if not existing_publication:
-                external_publication = await db_specific_fetches[publication_db](identifier)
+                try:
+                    external_publication = await db_specific_fetches[publication_db](identifier)
+                except json.JSONDecodeError:
+                    logger.warning(
+                        "Failed to fetch identifier %r from %s while fanning out over candidate databases.",
+                        identifier,
+                        publication_db,
+                        exc_info=True,
+                    )
+                    external_publication = None
+
                 found_articles[publication_db] = (
                     ExternalPublication(identifier, publication_db, external_publication)
                     if external_publication