diff --git a/tools/port/check-citations b/tools/port/check-citations
index 53c824b3..8fd2a9a3 100755
--- a/tools/port/check-citations
+++ b/tools/port/check-citations
@@ -97,6 +97,13 @@ def main() -> int:
         for m, src in sorted(nowhere.items()):
             print("      %-52s <- %s" % (m, os.path.basename(src)))
         print("\n🔴 a reader following those gets nothing. Fix the path or drop the citation.")
+        # 🔴 FALSE RED, HIT 2026-09-02: a peer-branch file cited minutes after it
+        # was pushed resolves NOWHERE here, because this scans local refs and the
+        # local ref was stale. The citation was correct and the check was wrong.
+        # A check that cries wolf is worse than no check, so it now says so.
+        print("   ⚠️ If a path was pushed by the other agent recently, this may be")
+        print("      a STALE LOCAL REF rather than a bad citation. Run")
+        print("      `git fetch origin` and re-run before editing anything.")
         return 1
     print("  🔴 resolve nowhere          : 0")
     return 0