diff --git a/tools/port/check-citations b/tools/port/check-citations
index 8fd2a9a3..e2863d15 100755
--- a/tools/port/check-citations
+++ b/tools/port/check-citations
@@ -39,6 +39,26 @@ CITE = re.compile(
 PEER_REFS = ("origin/auto/frame-blend-draw-path", "origin/main")
 
 
+def refresh_peer_refs() -> bool:
+    """Fetch before judging, so a stale local ref is not reported as a bad path.
+
+    🔴 THIS WAS A FALSE RED IN `check-all`, TWICE. A citation added minutes after
+    the other agent pushed the file resolves NOWHERE here, because this scans
+    LOCAL refs. The first fix only reworded the failure to suggest fetching --
+    which left the suite going red for a correct citation, i.e. it documented the
+    cry-wolf instead of removing it.
+
+    Read-only and best-effort: no network, no remote, or no credentials just means
+    the scan runs against what is already here, exactly as before.
+    """
+    try:
+        return subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "fetch", "--quiet", "origin"],
+            capture_output=True, timeout=60).returncode == 0
+    except Exception:
+        return False
+
+
 def on_a_ref(path: str) -> str | None:
     """The first ref that carries `path`, or None."""
     for ref in PEER_REFS:
@@ -84,6 +104,9 @@ def main() -> int:
               % (len(nb) == 1, len(ng) == 0 and r == 1, "ok" if ok else "🔴 BROKEN"))
         return 0 if ok else 2
 
+    fetched = refresh_peer_refs()
+    print("peer refs: %s" % ("fetched" if fetched else
+                             "NOT fetched -- offline or no remote; results may be stale"))
     files = sorted(glob.glob("docs/port/*.md"))
     resolves, peer, nowhere = scan(files)
     total = resolves + len(peer) + len(nowhere)