diff --git a/lib/pleroma/web/rich_media/parser.ex b/lib/pleroma/web/rich_media/parser.ex
index b33411cc7..32dec9887 100644
--- a/lib/pleroma/web/rich_media/parser.ex
+++ b/lib/pleroma/web/rich_media/parser.ex
@@ -54,12 +54,14 @@ defp check_parsed_data(data) do
     {:error, "Found metadata was invalid or incomplete: #{inspect(data)}"}
   end
 
-  defp string_is_valid_unicode(data) do
+  defp string_is_valid_unicode(data) when is_binary(data) do
     data
     |> :unicode.characters_to_binary()
     |> clean_string()
   end
 
+  defp string_is_valid_unicode(data), do: {:ok, data}
+
   defp clean_string({:error, _, _}), do: {:error, "Invalid data"}
   defp clean_string(data), do: {:ok, data}