diff --git a/Changelog.md b/Changelog.md
index 6aa69902f..cfba5e566 100644
--- a/Changelog.md
+++ b/Changelog.md
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 * OpenGraph: don't make description into links [#4492](https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/issues/4492)
 * Don't cut off long tags in stream posts [#4864](https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/issues/4864)
 * Do not replace earlier appearances of the name while mentioning somebody [#4868](https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/issues/4868)
+* Catch exceptions when trying to decode an invalid URI [#4874](https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/issues/4874)
 
 ## Features
 * You can report a single post by clicking the correct icon in the controler section [#4517](https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/pull/4517)
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter.js b/app/assets/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter.js
index d5ae68444..9f27029c6 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter.js
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter.js
@@ -45,9 +45,12 @@ $(function() {
         }
 
         // url*DE*code as much as possible
-        while( unicodeUrl.indexOf("%") !== -1 && unicodeUrl != decodeURI(unicodeUrl) ) {
-          unicodeUrl = decodeURI(unicodeUrl);
+        try {
+          while( unicodeUrl.indexOf("%") !== -1 && unicodeUrl != decodeURI(unicodeUrl) ) {
+            unicodeUrl = decodeURI(unicodeUrl);
+          }
         }
+        catch(e){}
 
         // markdown doesn't like '(' or ')' anywhere, except where it wants
         var workingUrl = unicodeUrl.replace(/\(/, "%28").replace(/\)/, "%29");
diff --git a/spec/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter_spec.js b/spec/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter_spec.js
index 334321d5a..14d8a149c 100644
--- a/spec/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter_spec.js
+++ b/spec/javascripts/app/helpers/text_formatter_spec.js
@@ -88,7 +88,8 @@ describe("app.helpers.textFormatter", function(){
           "http://موقع.وزارة-الاتصالات.مصر/", // example from #3082
           "http:///scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=top_venues",
           "http://lyricstranslate.com/en/someone-you-നിന്നെ-പോലൊരാള്‍.html", // example from #3063,
-          "http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Abkürzungen_(Netzjargon)" // #3645
+          "http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Abkürzungen_(Netzjargon)", // #3645
+          "http://wiki.com/?query=Kr%E4fte", // #4874
         ];
         this.asciiUrls = [
           "http://www.xn--brgerentscheid-krankenhuser-xkc78d.de",
@@ -96,7 +97,8 @@ describe("app.helpers.textFormatter", function(){
           "http://xn--4gbrim.xn----ymcbaaajlc6dj7bxne2c.xn--wgbh1c/",
           "http:///scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=top_venues",
           "http://lyricstranslate.com/en/someone-you-%E0%B4%A8%E0%B4%BF%E0%B4%A8%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%A8%E0%B5%86-%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%8B%E0%B4%B2%E0%B5%8A%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%B3%E0%B5%8D%E2%80%8D.html",
-          "http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Abk%C3%BCrzungen_%28Netzjargon%29"
+          "http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Abk%C3%BCrzungen_%28Netzjargon%29",
+          "http://wiki.com/?query=Kr%E4fte",
         ];
       });