diff --git a/python/src/stackdump/app.py b/python/src/stackdump/app.py
index 77b5b18..3a75a53 100644
--- a/python/src/stackdump/app.py
+++ b/python/src/stackdump/app.py
@@ -831,7 +831,7 @@ def _rewrite_html(html, app_url_root, sites_by_urls):
                 host = urllib2.Request(url).get_host()
             except ValueError:
                 # invalid URL or local anchor, leaving as-is
-                internal_link = True
+                pass
             else:
                 site = sites_by_urls.get(host, None)
                 if site: