diff --git a/Code/Lib/Zotfinger.php b/Code/Lib/Zotfinger.php
index 02e02284c..248405570 100644
--- a/Code/Lib/Zotfinger.php
+++ b/Code/Lib/Zotfinger.php
@@ -47,6 +47,11 @@ class Zotfinger
 
         $x = Url::post($resource, $data, ['headers' => $h]);
 
+        if (get_request_string($resource) === '/') {
+            // don't recurse on the root actor/directory.
+            $recurse = false;
+        }
+
         if (in_array(intval($x['return_code']), [ 404, 410 ]) && $recurse) {
 
             // The resource has been deleted or doesn't exist at this location.