diff --git a/lib/gitlab/markdown/redactor_filter.rb b/lib/gitlab/markdown/redactor_filter.rb
index 9faee4567ae..92925f866a9 100644
--- a/lib/gitlab/markdown/redactor_filter.rb
+++ b/lib/gitlab/markdown/redactor_filter.rb
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ module Gitlab
         elsif node.has_attribute?('data-user-id')
           user_can_reference_user?(node.attr('data-user-id'))
         else
-          false
+          true
         end
       end