diff --git a/webapp/utils/channel_utils.jsx b/webapp/utils/channel_utils.jsx
index 1afce39b45..e3a9f04234 100644
--- a/webapp/utils/channel_utils.jsx
+++ b/webapp/utils/channel_utils.jsx
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ export function sortChannelsByDisplayName(a, b) {
     const aDisplayName = getChannelDisplayName(a);
     const bDisplayName = getChannelDisplayName(b);
 
-    if (aDisplayName !== bDisplayName) {
+    if (aDisplayName !== null && bDisplayName !== null && aDisplayName !== bDisplayName) {
         return aDisplayName.localeCompare(bDisplayName, locale, {numeric: true});
     }
 
diff --git a/webapp/utils/utils.jsx b/webapp/utils/utils.jsx
index 56482a0fb2..68f43b543b 100644
--- a/webapp/utils/utils.jsx
+++ b/webapp/utils/utils.jsx
@@ -1011,7 +1011,7 @@ export function displayUsernameForUser(user) {
         return name;
     }
 
-    return null;
+    return '';
 }
 
 // Converts a file size in bytes into a human-readable string of the form '123MB'.