diff --git a/r2/r2/public/static/js/base.js b/r2/r2/public/static/js/base.js
index f2902bc1e..27c73a002 100644
--- a/r2/r2/public/static/js/base.js
+++ b/r2/r2/public/static/js/base.js
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ r.setup = function(config) {
 }
 
 r.setupBackbone = function() {
+    Backbone.emulateJSON = true
     Backbone.ajax = function(request) {
         var url = request.url,
             preloaded = r.preload.read(url)